Aldo Leopold’s “A Sand County Almanac”  was copyright in 1949 by Oxford University Press, Inc. It was published some years later in paperback by Ballantine Books of New York and included Essays on Conservation from Leopold’s “Round River”. I bought the paperback version in the mid-70’s but never finished reading it. After so enjoying Louis Bromfield’s “Pleasant Valley” this summer and seeing a PBS program on Leopold, I decided to again read Leopold’s “…Almanac”.  The two authors lived and wrote back in the immediate post WW II era. I enjoyed reading Bromfield’s book more than Leopold’s because of the need for greater concentration. The “…Almanac”  has been quoted by Conservationists since it was published. Some of my favorites are:

“A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community. It is wrong when it tends otherwise.”

“In short, a land ethic changes the role of Homosapiens from conqueror of the land community to plain member and citizen of it. It implies respect for his fellow-members, and also respect for the community as such.”

“The art of land doctoring is being practiced with vigor, but the science of land health is yet to be born”

If Leopold were alive today, I believe he would be pleased to learn  that “land health” has been born and of the progress that has been made in recognizing  and doctoring soil and land health.

His book is a Classic and everyone who considers themselves a Conservationist should read it.