Naturalists in the developed countries were largely split between conservationists and preservationists. This battle is no better demonstrated in the US than during the Progressive Era of 1890-1920.
While the existing economic paradigm was one of laissez-faire economics that many felt was damaging the natural environment and integrity of natural resources, the conservationist movement led by Theodore Roosevelt was deeply concerned about the wastage and harm it was doing to the land, leading to a large number of game species in the US on the brink of extinction in less than a century. Then there were the preservationists who argued that the proposals of the emerging conservationists did not go far enough. This was certainly the view of John Muir who believed that there was still too much concern for the economic value of land rather than the need for preservation of pristine landscapes. Muir’s Sierra Club made a stand with the development of the Hetch Hetchy Dam in Yosemite, arguing that the land should be kept pristine and the valley protected.
As president, Roosevelt pushed strongly for conservation issues which may be the reason they eventually won the day. During his term in office, around 230m acres of land were put under Federal protection, established the US Forestry Service, and created five national parks, and several national forests. That’s not to say that preservationists did not have their victories. In the 1960s, the Wilderness Actset aside large tracts of land with minimal human impact and of particular cultural, scientific, or natural interest. In these areas, logging, mining and other industrial activities are prohibited and there are strong protections in place to maintain the integrity of natural water sources partly for the ecosystem and partly for industrial and commercial developments downstream of the water flow.
(Source: https://www.environmentalscience.org/)
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