Do you know about Rosalie Edge?

I am ashamed to admit that I had not heard or her before a couple days ago. That, of course, doesn’t surprise me considering that in all my schooling I was exposed only to the men who were active in the conservation movement. If you didn’t really delve into the history it would look like no other women besides Rachel Carson had any major impact on natural resource conservation. But then I discovered Rosalie. And WOW is she awesome!

First she became politically active in the early 1900s as a suffragette and fought hard for women’s equality. She discovered that she was great at debating and persuading. She had the skills it takes to organize a powerful campaign and get messages out to the right people. 

She was living in New England and started birdwatching as well. The hobby became an obsession and she amassed a life list of over 800 birds. I can only wish to one day have that many species on my list. This hobby then exposed her to conservation issues regarding birds. She became nationally known for her fight against the management of the Audubon Society (at the time called the National Association of Audubon Societies). She discovered that the leaders were not sticking to the mission of the society but were instead caving to wealthy donors. She managed to get the corrupt management out of the Society. Her spunk and determination also lead to creation of two national parks on the west coast: Olympic and Kings Canyon National Park.

Her next nationally known action was to create Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. After becoming aware of hunters (I’d call them poachers myself) that would go to Kittatinny Ridge (aka Hawk Mountain) in Pennsylvania and slaughter thousands of raptors every fall, she was determined to stop them. I found an awesome quote from Rosalie on the Sanctuary's website in which she responded to the behavior of the hunters “Man hates any creature that kills and eats what he wishes to kill and eat. He does not take into account the millions of rodents and insect pests that hawks consume.” The website goes on to say “This was enlightened, ecological thinking in 1933, and the Audubon Association rebuffed her efforts to prod them to purchase the mountain and protect the hawks.” So she bought the land herself and began the foundation.

How in the hell is her story not told in natural resource classes today? Why do we only learn about Muir and Leopold and their ilk? Why is Rachel Carson the only woman we learn about? It really chaps my hide.

So, I am teaching a course next semester all about the key figures in the history of conservation. Guess who will be on the list of “People to know about”?

Learn more about her in this biography by Dyana Z. Fumarsky -  Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy: The Activist Who Saved Nature from the Conservationists