Aldo Leopold Quotes About Nature, born January 11, 1887, in Burlington, Iowa, was an American ecologist, forester, conservationist, and author, celebrated as the father of wildlife ecology. His landmark book, A Sand County Almanac (1949), which has sold over two million copies, introduced the “land ethic,” a philosophy urging ethical responsibility toward the natural world. A pioneer in wildlife management, Leopold’s experiences in the U.S. Forest Service and his observations of nature shaped his transformative views on conservation. These 15 quotes—sourced from his writings, essays, and public statements—capture his profound insights on nature, ecology, and humanity’s place within it, reflecting his enduring legacy.
15 Aldo Leopold Quotes About Nature
- “We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. viii)
- “There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 6)
- “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 197)
- “Our ability to perceive quality in nature begins, as in art, with the pretty. It expands through successive stages of the beautiful to values as yet uncaptured by language.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 96)
- “The land ethic simply enlarges the boundaries of the community to include soils, waters, plants, and animals, or collectively: the land.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 204)
- “To keep every cog and wheel is the first precaution of intelligent tinkering.” (Round River, 1966, p. 147)
- “When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 95, on the marsh crane)
- “Man always kills the thing he loves, and so we the pioneers have killed our wilderness. Some say we had to. Be that as it may, I am glad I shall never be young without wild country to be young in.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 148)
- “The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry. The stalks hum, the loose husks whisk skyward in half-playful swirls, and the wind hurries on.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 67)
- “Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 129)
- “We shall never achieve harmony with land, any more than we shall achieve absolute justice or liberty for people. In these higher aspirations the important thing is not to achieve, but to strive.” (Round River, 1966, p. 155)
- “Acts of creation are ordinarily reserved for gods and poets, but humbler folk may circumvent this restriction if they know how. To plant a pine, for example, one need be neither god nor poet; one need only own a good shovel.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 81)
- “There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. vii)
- “Like winds and sunsets, wild things were taken for granted until progress began to do away with them. Now we face the question whether a still higher ‘standard of living’ is worth its cost in things natural, wild, and free.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. vii)
- “In June, as many as a dozen species may burst their buds on a single day. No man can heed all of these anniversaries; no man can ignore all of them.” (A Sand County Almanac, 1949, p. 44)
Aldo Leopold’s nature quotes weave ecological wisdom with poetic reverence, inspiring us to cherish and protect the land as a living community. Which quote stirs your love for the wild? Share it in the comments and keep Leopold’s vision thriving!
Emma Thompson
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