Essay On Progressive Era

The Progressive Era’s Progress in the Preservation of Natural Resources

During the Progressive Era, the U.S. made leading changes in the conservation of natural resources. During this short thirty year period, many advancements were made in favor of “America’s best idea”, national parks. Theodore Roosevelt, president of the United States from 1901 to 1909, signed many bills that enhanced the security of forests and parks and bills that designated Crater Lake, OR in 1902, Wind Cave, SD in 1903, and Mesa Verde, CO in 1906, as national parks. In 1905, Theodore Roosevelt created the National Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that manages the nation’s forests and grasslands. Along with this, he greatly broadened the National Forests and created

In 1916, Wilson signed another bill that created the National Parks Service, an agency that manages U.S. national parks, American national monuments, and other significant conservation and historical areas. A friend of Theodore Roosevelt and the most influential conservationist in American history, John Muir founded the Sierra Club in 1892 in an effort to organize people with the mutual goal of preserving the environment. The Sierra Club fought to preserve and protect the mountain regions of the West Coast and the Yellowstone National Park. John F. Lacey, another great conversationalist, while he had many concerns, mostly fought for the safety of birds and wildlife. He authored the Yellowstone National Park Protection Act in 1894, which made Yellowstone the first national wildlife preserve, and made hunting and trapping illegal in the area. In 1905, Lacey addressed the Iowa Federation of Women's Clubs in Waterloo, Iowa about the popular trend of using bird feathers in hats by saying, "In the preservation of our birds, the women of America were slow to act, but they are now doing a great part. We have a wireless telegraph, a