The University of Iowa, in a fit of being prescient, created the Aldo Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture. Thinking long term, this Center brought together conservationists and farmers, thinking about soil conservation, how to use crops as wildlife habitat. Great things came from this Center, including making cover crops "in" again. And now, Iowa Republican state legislators want to de-fund this Center.
Aldo Leopold is a great hero of ours. His foresight on American wildlife and habitat was measured and reasonable. He was not some "wild eyed" environmentalist, but rather a conservationist. He loved hunting, he poured his amazing energy into restoring his own "shack" and land to use it as a model of sustainability in agriculture and wildlife habitat. In this day of rolling back every single law and regulation concerning conservation, reducing the size of our National Monuments, and encouraging mineral extraction and timber cutting on our public lands, we need to counter this back to the turn of the 19th century movement with current and forward thinking ideas and science. Just say no Iowa. Keep this vital institution.
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AuthorKim often has a lot to say. Archives
August 2021
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