National Wildlife Federation

What started as a cartoonist’s dream has turned into the largest grassroots conservation organization in the country. Today the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) boasts over 4 million supporters and 47 state affiliates. NWF continues to be the voice of conservation for diverse constituencies that include hunters, anglers, gardeners, bird watchers, scientists, outdoor enthusiasts, and families raising the next generation of habitat stewards. The Public Trust Doctrine was formally established during an 1872 Supreme Court Case, Martin vs. Wadell. A private landowner, Martin claimed to own both the land alongside and underneath New Jersey’s Raritan River, tracing his title to a grant from King Charles to the Duke of York in 1664 which purported to convey, "all the lands, islands, soils, rivers, harbors, mines, minerals, quarries, woods, marshes, waters, lakes, fishings, hawkings, and fowlings." After the assassination of President McKinley in 1901, the great hunter and outdoorsman, Theodore Roosevelt, moved into to the White House and the bully pulpit. Roosevelt’s conservation ethic was formed through the eyes of the hunter during trips west to South Dakota and Montana. Theodore Roosevelt inspired a nation to conservation, but it didn’t take long for his ideals to slip. By the 1930’s ill-advised farming practices encouraged by the federal government led to the Dust Bowl. The lid had come off of the prairie and Iowa cartoonist Jay Norwood “Ding” Darling began the vision for what would become the National Wildlife Federation. Darling’s dream became reality in 1936 when he convinced President Franklin Roosevelt to invite over 2,000 hunters, anglers, and conservationists from across the country to the first North American Wildlife Conference in Washington, DC at the Mayflower hotel. Addressing the crowd, Darling stated, “Our scattered and desultory organizations—36,000 of them—have never, to my certain knowledge, influenced so much as the election of a dog catcher. . . . [With] all this potential voting strength, the wildlife conservationists together exert less influence on our governments, both state and national, than the Barrel-Rollers’ Union in Pumpkin Center…” There, the General Wildlife Federation (later changed to the National Wildlife Federation) was formed with the idea of uniting sportsmen and all outdoor and wildlife enthusiasts behind the common goal of conservation and Ding Darling became the first President of the organization.