Who is gifford pinchot

Conservationist and forester Gifford Pinchot, born in , reformed the way in which the early twentieth-century United States managed and developed its valuable natural resources, especially its forests. Pinchot became interested in forestry at an early age. With the support of his wealthy father, Pinchot graduated from Yale University in and then did graduate work at the French National Forestry School where he learned both French and German practices in the field, then the most advanced in the world.

After only one year of school in France, he returned to the U. Pinchot's government service began while he was still a young man. Pinchot was determined to establish forestry as a legitimate occupation, despite the fact that forestry was not a recognized profession at that time in the United States. Amos Eno offered his grandson a business position that most likely would have made Pinchot independently wealthy, but Pinchot considered forest conservation a more important calling.

With his father's encouragement, he studied forestry in Germany, France, Switzerland, and Austria. In January , Pinchot, at the invitation of George Vanderbilt, created the first example in the United States of practical forest management on a large scale at Vanderbilt's Biltmore Estate, near Ashville, North Carolina.

Proving that conservation practices could be both beneficial for forests and still profitable, the Biltmore arboretum became a model for forest management around the world. From to , Pinchot consolidated the fragmented government forest work under the U. In , Pinchot also became professor of Forestry at Yale University and, in , his friend President Theodore Roosevelt appointed him chief of Forestry.

Under Pinchot's guidance, the number of national forests increased from 32 in to in Pinchot and Roosevelt agreed on many points of conservation and worked tirelessly to end the destruction of U.

Pinchot also visited the Philippine Islands in and recommended a forest policy for the islands. He was also appointed chairman of the Joint Committee on Conservation, by the first conference of Governors at Washington, December In , he was a member of the U. Food Administration. Cornelia and Gifford both were longtime friends with Theodore Roosevelt, who attended their wedding. As one of the most politically active first ladies in the history of Pennsylvania, she was a very strong advocate for women's rights, full educational opportunities for women, seeking wage and union protections for women and children, and encouraging women to participate in the political process.

Her family's wealth, influence from socially and politically prominent relatives, and Progressive Era politics proved to be a great influence on her husband's political agenda. Her influence among female voters is credited as a key factor in the election of her husband.

Cornelia Bryce Pinchot ran for the U. House of Representatives three times and attempted to succeed her husband as governor in the primary of , but lost all four elections. Schwartz , still serving as of He spent the majority of his three month treatment in the Northern woods hiking and snowshoeing across the frozen landscape. His tutor also helped Pinchot prepare for the entrance examinations to Yale.

It was his father, though, who ultimately suggested his career path Miller, Shortly before Pinchot entered Yale, his father posed a question that would change his life: "How would you like to be a forester? This was an unusual question for the time period because no American had yet acknowledged its practical application and made forestry a career. Nonetheless, Pinchot was intrigued by the prospects of his father's fateful question and proclaimed that forestry would become his lifework Miller, He later remarked: "I had no more conception of what it meant to be a forester than the man in the moon But at least a forester worked in the woods and with the woods - and I loved the woods and everything about them The problem, however, was that neither Yale nor any other American university offered a degree in forestry.

The school, established in , was one of the grand schools of France devoted to establishing a technologically trained elite who would develop practical ways to both extract and conserve the nation's resources in the post-Revolution era. At the core of the school's curriculum was an emphasis on silviculture, the means by which foresters produced and cared for forests, which finally enabled Pinchot to unite forestry as taught in the classroom with its reality on the ground.

On the other hand, he recognized forestry in America would have to be as unique and diverse as the landscape itself Miller, His European mentors advised him to stay and continue his training, but his drive and ambition compelled him to begin his career promptly.

Within two weeks of arriving in New York, he made his professional debut by delivering a talk on "Governmental Forestry Abroad" to a joint session of the annual American Economic Association and American Forestry Association meetings held in Washington, D. Finding a forestry job in the States, however, was difficult.

Pinchot attended several interviews with members of the Departments of Agriculture and Interior while he was in Washington, but they were fruitless Miller, His family fortune had been earned in the sale of products coming from forests. Consequently, Pinchot was encouraged by his father to become a forester and had a unique recognition for the role that well-managed forests played in sustaining the livelihood of families that relied on natural resources for income.

Pinchot also played an important role in beginning the Yale School of Forestry, encouraging his wealthy family members to donate to the school. At Yale, Pinchot became a leader in sustainable resource management.

In , he founded the American Society of Foresters to increase awareness of forestry and provide professional development opportunities for those interested in making a career of protecting woodlands.

Pinchot served in this role for five years under Roosevelt and then under President Taft until