The Sand Counties – Aldo Leopold Territory
“There are some who can live without wild things, and some who cannot.” For those who cannot, Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac helps reveal the unsuspected natural riches hidden in these sand counties of Wisconsin.
At the core of Aldo Leopold’s writing is the concept of a land ethic in which love and respect for the land are the guiding principles. He believed that public conservation efforts had little chance of success unless private individuals felt a strong personal responsibility for the health of the land.
In 1935, driven to action by this philosophy, Leopold purchased a Sand County farm “worn out and then abandoned by our bigger-and-better society” and “selected for its lack of goodness and its lack of highway.” There the Leopold family spent twelve years of time and effort changing their 80 acres of desolation into a showpiece of native Wisconsin habitat complete with abundant wildlife and restored natural landscape. In so doing, Aldo Leopold left us an inspiring example of the land ethic in action.
Marker can be reached from Interstate 90/94 at milepost 75, on the right when traveling west.
Courtesy hmdb.org
