A. Starker Leopold

A. Starker Leopold "began his long advisory association with the National Park Service in 1962 with his appointment to the Special Advisory Board on Wildlife Management by Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall. His involvement with the national parks terminated only with his death on August 23, 1983...

"He received many honors for his professional contributions and was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 1970. But he is probably best known for the Leopold Report, written by himself as chairman, together with his colleagues, on several advisory committees to the secretary of the interior. The first of these reports, Wildlife Problems in National Parks (1963), proved to be a landmark for the National Park Service. The public controversy over the shooting reduction of elk in Yellowstone generated the appointment of this first advisory committee. Typically, Starker did not confine his charge to the narrow topic of the elk reductions. He and his fellow committee members broadened their scope to address the broader topic and the more fundamental issue of the goals and mandates of national parks in managing wildlife as distinguished from other land and wildlife management agencies...

"Starker's formal role as an advisor continued as he chaired a 1969 meeting of the Natural Sciences Advisory Committee to discuss differences regarding grizzly bear management at Yellowstone. He later served on the Advisory Board on National Parks (1977-1978)."

"Many in the wildlife field relied on Leopold for help with their more difficult problems. As a result, he was heavily involved in public policy matters at the highest level. In 1968, the Special Advisory Board on Wildlife Management of the Department of Interior, which he chaired, produced reports which led directly to significant new policies for the National Parks and National Wildlife Refuges. Similarly, in 1972, through membership on a subsequent Advisory Committee on Predator Control, his views were remarkably effective in changing federal policy toward predatory animals. Earlier he did highly influential consulting on aspects of wildlife conservation policy with the National Parks in Tanzania, with the Missouri Conservation Department, and the Mexican Game Department. His effectiveness in the public policy arena was a demonstration of his ability to teach at all levels, from undergraduate students to those with the largest governmental and business responsibilities. His influence on this broader scene is reflected in his service as a Trustee and for two terms as President of the California Academy of Sciences, and as a Director and Vice President of the Sierra Club. He was vigorously engaged in such public service activities almost to the day of his death."


 * Winner of the 1966 Audubon Medal

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