In Wisconsin, there are lots of special events happening this week to officially mark Earth Day, which was yesterday. But for many residents of our state, April 22 is just another day in the ongoing effort of being green. After all, we claim ties to three great American conservationists: John Muir, Aldo Leopold and Gaylord Nelson.
In fact, it was our U.S. Senator — Gaylord Nelson — who founded Earth Day in 1970 and was the Senate's leading environmentalist during his tenure there. (Prior to his Senate career, Nelson served in Wisconsin's legislature and was also governor).
Gaylord Nelson photographed by Frank Wallick, 1967, Wisconsin Historical Society
In the Senate, according to the UW-Madison's Nelson Institute, Gaylord Nelson "championed landmark laws including the Wilderness Act, the National Trails Act, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the National Environmental Education Act. He also introduced the first federal legislation to mandate fuel-efficiency standards in automobiles, control strip mining, and ban the use of phosphates in detergents as well as the use of the pesticide DDT and the defoliant, 2,4,5,-T." (Wisconsin was the first state to ban DDT in 1971).
NATIONAL PARK SERVICE PHOTO
Gaylord Nelson was also instrumental in the establishment of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Once you've visited the Apostles, you never forget them and you become an instant Nelson convert if you weren't already one. Almost 30 years later, I still recall the day I spent sailing through the islands. We anchored off Raspberry Island where we picnicked on the beach after rowing to shore in rubber dinghies. Then we walked through the woods to the Keeper's House and climbed to the top of the light (above) up a vertical metal ladder. The Apostle Islands have 8 lighthouses on 6 islands. They even have a song — "Keeper of the Light" — written about them.
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