Our Founders

The Wilderness Society

The Wilderness Society was founded in 1935

Aldo Leopold, Robert Marshall, Robert Sterling Yard, Benton MacKaye, Ernest Oberholtzer, Harvey Broome, Bernard Frank and Harold C. Anderson formed The Wilderness Society to save some of America’s dwindling wildlands.

At the time, forests and other public lands were mainly seen as resources for logging, mining and other development. Setting out to conserve the wildest places was a revolutionary idea.

Our founders

Bob Marshall

The Wilderness Society

Robert Marshall

Principal founder of The Wilderness Society, Marshall set an unprecedented course for wilderness preservation in the United States that few have surpassed.

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Robert Sterling Yard in Yosemite National Park, 1920.

National Parks & Conservation Association

Robert Sterling Yard

His work was essential to passing the bill that created the National Park Service.

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Harvey Broome

The Wilderness Society

Harvey Broome

Broome worked closely with Executive Director Howard Zahniser to persuade Congress to create the National Wilderness Preservation System.

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Potomac Appalachian Trail Club, 1938 (Harold Anderson in center with pipe).

Appalachian Trail Conference

Harold Anderson

Hiker, wilderness advocate and an initiator of the development of The Wilderness Society.

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Ernest Oberholtzer (right) with dog Skippy and Tay-tah-pa-sway-wi-tong (left) holding cabbage.

MHS

Ernest Oberholtzer

Explorer, author and pioneering champion for wilderness protection.

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Wilderness Society founders (from left to right) Bernard Frank, Harvey Broome, Bob Marshall and Benton MacKaye.

The Wilderness Society.

Bernard Frank

Frank led the organization of the Rock Creek Watershed Association to restore and protect Rock Creek in Maryland and Washington, D.C.

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Benton MacKaye.

The Wilderness Society

Benton MacKaye

Before co-founding The Wilderness Society, Benton MacKaye made groundbreaking scientific contributions to the conservation movement.

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Aldo Leopold.

The Wilderness Society

Aldo Leopold

Leopold had a deep appreciation for the natural world and worked with the Forest Service to protect the nation’s first wilderness area.

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