When Leopold was working with farmers for better land use practice, he was continually looking for ways in which providing better game habitat could result in larger income for struggling landowners. That is why he formed the Riley Game Cooperative, where hunters would pay farmers with labor and fees to help build up the habitat and thus, the game populations on the farmers' lands. It was a win-win situation. The hunters ended up with more game and better hunting; the landowners received a more beautiful, bounteous land, some dollars in the pocket, and a sense of satisfaction from their improved stewardship of their lands.
I'm sure if Leopold were alive, he would be supportive of all environmental efforts that remember that humans need to have a way to make a meaningful living within the land system. But he would have no time for efforts that place economic interests above the health of the land, or consider that all "desires" at a negotiating table are equal. That's where the differences between needs and wants, necessities and comfort for all member species need to be weighed. That's why he proposed an American Land Ethic, so that we could begin to have discussions that did not just revolve around economic values and convenience.
He made the personal leap of hope between practical realities and ideals by stating: "We shall never achieve harmony with the land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these aspirations, the important thing is not to achieve, but to strive."
Q: How did teaching at the University of Wisconsin's first graduate program in game management change AL's direction and philosophy....
Marybeth Lorbiecki: I wouldn't say that it did. I would say it intensified his course. He became "The Professor" -- a conduit of knowledge to others in a formal, educational way, and in a personal way, a mentor to those who were looking to make a difference in the world while still being rooted in a loving relationship and stable family. So many famous people in American history and culture have not able to value and be committed to both, a loving family and a profession of national or international standing. Leopold did.
It must be noted, of course, that the only reason he was able to sustain both a family and his many professional responsibilities and interests was because of his wife, Estella, and her devotion to supporting his work and interests. But she did not do it in a subservient, colorless way. She ran their home with humor, financial acuity, graciousness, creativity, music and warmth; she sought and gained expertise in every area of her interests, sometimes surpassing Aldo -- hunting, archery, prairie fauna, etc.
Leopold never "grew too big for his britches" in the sense of waylaying interpersonal relationships because of self-inflation. And his students noted that about him. He was thoughtful, caring, and a good listener. He refined the art of drawing the best of knowledge and curiosity out of people, and this quality came most to the fore during this period of Leopold's life. A friend, Ernie Swift said of him, "You would go out with him and he'd stretch your brains until they were tired." As you can imagine, Leopold's students had a similar, reciprocal effect on him as they brought in their research, their questions, their proposals, their outlooks, their challenges.
Q: I love your "born in a mansion and died in a shack" quote; his shack being his grandest possession. Explain this and express what he left us...
Marybeth Lorbiecki: I was just trying to emphasize how Leopold turned the American Dream of seeking riches upside down. Leopold was born in a family that possessed both material and spiritual wealth; yet as Leopold grew, he consistently sought after the latter, sometimes in direct opposition to the former.
During the 30s, Leopold found some land with an old chicken coop on it, and for the cost of the back taxes, the family purchased it. After cleaning out the manure, the Shack became Leopold's beloved vacation spot for relaxation, restoration, and fulfillment. But it never became anything physically more than a souped-up chicken coop. Leopold required that no one ever bring anything to the shack that was not absolutely necessary. So the luxuries of electricity, running water, store-bought furniture, radios, rugs, curtains, never made their way to the Shack. A outside hand pump, Dutch oven, fireplace, straw-filled mattresses, and a plank floor have been the beloved features of this place where Leopold and his family sought and found their "meat from God.'
