Cradle of Conservation

“In this sweeping yet succinct account, Allen Dieterich-Ward brings to life Pennsylvania’s environmental history-from the birth of the conservation movement in the nineteenth century to the impacts of climate change we’re experiencing right now. This groundbreaking book is a crucial resource for anyone seeking to understand the people, places, and policies that have shaped-and continue to shape-​life in the Keystone State and beyond.”-Cindy Adams Dunn, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources “Despite its brevity, Cradle of Conservation contains great breadth-from the ‘spiritually rich and actively managed working landscape’ of the Haudenosaunee and Lenape to the postindustrial heritage preservation movement. Allen Dieterich-Ward has enriched the narrative with details from the lives of many Pennsylvanians, some as well-known as Rachel Carson, and some who will be new to most readers, including Ralph Brock, the nation’s first Black forester. This is a concise and powerful history of one of the nation’s great energy states.”-David Stradling, Zane L. Miller Professor of History at the University of Cincinnati, and author of The Nature of New York: An Environmental History of the Empire State “Cradle of Conservation is the first comprehensive analysis of the commonwealth's environmental history and is a superb addition to the Pennsylvania History Series. Better still, this slim volume offers a compelling model for any state eager to better understand its environmental past.... Richly detailed and well argued, Cradle of Conservation balances fine-grained analyses with an inclusive sweep of people and place over time. It is a remarkable achievement.”-Pennsylvania Heritage