Aldo Leopold's Conservation Vision Comes to Aquidneck Island

If alive today, Aldo Leopold would find himself in good company tonight at Sweet Berry Farm, the setting for the Aquidneck Land Trust's latest lecture.

Regarded by many as a founding father in today's conservation and wildlife management practices, Leopold inspired a series of successors to follow in his footsteps—among them Buddy Huffaker, Executive Director of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, who's scheduled to speak tonight at Sweet Berry Farm from 6 pm to 8pm. The Aquidneck Land Trust (ALT) is sponsoring the event, which is free and open to the public.

Given the ALT's own preservation accomplishments as well as projects in the works, a lively and informative discussion is expected to follow. In its efforts to preserve open spaces and the natural character of Aquidneck Island, to date the organization has conserved about 2,291 acres throughout Aquidneck Island. 

For more than a decade, the Aldo Leopold Foundation has traversed the country, helping and guiding communities to realize their own visions for conservation and land management.

In the mid-20th Century, Leopold himself was a vocal conservationist, forester, philosopher, educator, writer and outdoor enthusiast. A Sand County Almanac, first published in 1949, sold over 2 million copies and established him as one of the most influential conservation thinkers of the twentieth century. The Aldo Leopold Foundation was established by Leopold's five children to continue such advocacy, according to foundation historians.

Huffaker has guided the Aldo Leopold Foundation since 1999 but was an active member several years earlier since joining the organization as an ecologist in 1996, according to the foundation website.  An active conservation advocate at the national level, Huffaker has also participated in the White House Conference on Cooperative Conservation and was elected to represent the Northeast Region at the United States Forest Service's Centennial Congress.  Additionally, he has penned two books; The Farm as a Natural Habitat (Island Press) and Aldo Leopold and the Ecological Conscience (Oxford University Press). 

Huffaker joined the conservation movement with a unique perspective on planning, given his academic background in landscape architecture. As such, he was deeply involved in every aspect of the design and construction of the Leopold Center located in Baraboo, Wisconsin, and he now serves as a leading voice for the importance of merging the interests of green building and conservation, according to his biography. 

Tonight's Aquidneck Land Trust lecture featuring Buddy Huffaker will be held at Sweet Berry Farm, from 6 pm to 8pm. This event is FREE and open to the public.  Please click HERE to register for the event. 

For more information about the history, philosophies and vision of Aldo Leopold, please visit the Aldo Leopold Foundation website.