Conservation

While Roosevelt was in presidency, he noticed that our natural resources were being used up at an alarming rate and that something needed to be done. He wanted to make areas that were not open to exploitation of minors, hunters, or constructors. Roosevelt urged Americans to realize the natural beauty that the United States had and stop the destruction of it before it was too late. Roosevelt said, “Between the man that skins the land and the man who develops the country. I am going to work with, and only with, the man who develops the country. This means that Roosevelt’s best interest was to make the country a better place, not a place lacking its resources.

He began by allowing government money to pay for irrigation in western states that had scarcity of water. This made it possible for farmers to work the lands better, and therefore allow the country to grow as a whole. Roosevelt also believed that conserving forest areas was just as important due to the fact that forests were being wiped out too quick. Roosevelt then created over 100 million acres to protected national forests and created 5 new national parks, and 51 federal reservations. Roosevelt is the reason that today we have national parks that are not at the mercy of lumber companies.