The Wilderness Warrior - Douglas Brinkley [580]
Rice University, where I teach history, is a fantastic, top-tier place of higher education. I would like to thank Professor Allen Matusow and Ambassador Edward Djerejian at the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy for allowing me to host a conservation public policy seminar. The staff of Fondren Library at Rice tolerated many demands. Thanks to Sara Lowman, Randy Tibbits, Suellen Denton, Cheryl Cormier, Barbara Hansel, Karol Comie, Ginny Martin, and Lea Martinello. Also, the Rice University biology department kept me honest about Darwin, especially Lesley Campbell, David Queller, and Jim Coleman. My colleagues in the history department at Rice allowed me to teach a graduate course on Theodore Roosevelt and conservation, which proved very beneficial to me.
The Smithsonian Institution unfailingly helped me better understand Spencer Fullerton Baird, sharing his correspondence with Robert B. Roosevelt and William T. Hornaday. Members of the World Conservation Society opened papers up to me, read chapters, and encouraged the writing process in numerous ways. Special thanks to the Bronx Zoo’s director, Jim Breheny, and its vice president of communications, Mary Dixon. There is no finer way to spend a day than wandering around the 265-acre zoo, whose educational displays would make Charles Darwin proud. The staff of the American Museum of Natural History in New York City, especially Ellen V. Futter, did more than any other institution to encourage me in writing this book. Likewise, the Boone and Crockett Club Archive in Missoula, Montana—all 130 boxes—proved indispensable. The SPCA in New York enhanced my understanding of Henry Bergh mightily.
In Austin, Eric Busch, a history PhD student at the University of Texas, aided me on a couple of chapters. He’s on the fast track to becoming a premier environmental historian. A knot of local historian friends graciously listened to my T.R. yarns at dinner parties with good cheer, including H. W. Brands, David and Jane Oshinsky, Robert Utley and Melody Webb, Lawrence and Roberta Wright, Don and Suzanne Carleton, Evan and Julia Smith, and Tom and Muffy Staley. They make living in Austin special.
I’ve spent so many days in Oyster Bay, New York (a town since 1653), that the mayor should issue me an honorary residence certificate. The drive to Sagamore Hill along Cove Neck Road remains the most surefire way to transport me back one hundred years to when T.R. was the reigning squire. At Sagamore Hill National Historic Site—run by the U.S. Department of the Interior—a special thanks is due to Thomas Ross, Charles Markis, Amy Verone, Eric Witzke, and Julie Abbate. When visiting Sagamore Hill, one must be sure to stop at the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary and Audubon Center, where there are nature programs featuring live birds of prey and ecosystem rehabilitation workshops. Adjacent to the sanctuary is Youngs Memorial Cemetery, which contains the graves of Theodore and Edith Roosevelt.
I’ve been a member of the Theodore Roosevelt Association since 1990. Besides attending annual meetings, I’ve participated in TRA excursions to the Netherlands, North Dakota, San Antonio, and Tampa Bay. A few stalwart friends I’ve made in the TRA include Theodore Roosevelt IV, Edmund and Sylvia Morris, Admiral C. S. Abbot, Mark Ames, Dr. William N. Tilchin, Robert D. Dalziel, Norman Parsons, Lucky Roosevelt, Stephen and Regina Jefferies, Simon Roosevelt, Elizabeth Moore, and Dr. Cornelius A. van Minnen. Two ardent Rooseveltian conservationist