Virginia Hill Wood (October 24, 1917 – March 8, 2013) was an American environmental activist and a pioneer in the Alaskan conservation movement. Ginny Wood co-founded the

Alaska Conservation Society The Alaska Conservation Society was the first grassroots environmental conservation group in the U.S. state of Alaska.State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry"1988 Feinstone Environmental Awards" ESF.edu. Accessed ...

in 1960 with her then husband, Morton "Woody" Wood.

Biography

Aviator

Her first flight was at age 4, seated in her father's lap with a barnstorming pilot at the controls.Los Angeles Times staff and wire reports. (2013, March 12)
''Ginny Wood dies at 95; pioneering Alaska environmentalist''
The Los Angeles Times. While a student at the University of Washington, she enrolled in the Civilian Pilot Training Service and later the

Women Airforce Service Pilots The Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) (also Women's Army Service Pilots or Women's Auxiliary Service Pilots) was a civilian women pilots' organization, whose members were United States federal civil service employees. Members of WASP became t ...

corps for flight instruction. During World War II she ferried military planes from

Long Beach, California Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

to locations throughout the United States. After the war she flew cargo flights and war-surplus planes to Alaska and piloted tourist flights from

Fairbanks Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

Kotzebue, Alaska Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska encompassing t ...

.Editorial. (2013, March 11)
''Adventure's end: Ginny Wood lived the life she wanted''
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.

Environmentalist

Wood became fond of outdoor activities such as hiking, fishing, river rafting and horseback riding while growing up in

Oregon Oregon () is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of it ...

and

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. While in Fairbanks after the war she met and married Morton Wood, a forest ranger at

Mount McKinley National Park Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and contiguous preserve e ...

. The Woods pooled their resources with

Celia M. Hunter Celia Hunter (January 13, 1919 – December 1, 2001) was an American environmentalist and conservationist. She was conferred the highest award by the Sierra Club, The John Muir Award, in 1991. She was presented the highest award by the Wilder ...

, who had served with Wood in the Women Airforce Service Pilots, to buy land in the Alaskan wilderness under the Homestead Act. In 1952 they began building Camp Denali on the property to serve as a tourist outpost and a base for backcountry exploration. Wood was influenced by the writings of pioneer ecologist

Aldo Leopold Aldo Leopold (January 11, 1887 – April 21, 1948) was an American writer, philosopher, naturalist, scientist, ecologist, forester, conservationist, and environmentalist. He was a professor at the University of Wisconsin and is best known for his ...

and his philosophy that the natural world and plants had intrinsic rights.Smetzer, Mary Beth. (2013, March 11)
''World War II aviator, environmentalist Ginny Wood dies at 95''
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. In the late 1950s, Wood hosted a meeting in her living room that led to formation of the Alaska Conservation Society. Wood helped lead protests against a plan to use nuclear explosives to create a deep-water harbor in northwest Alaska and she testified before Congress in opposition to the Rampart Dam. In 1960 she lobbied U.S. President

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...

to designate the

Arctic National Wildlife Refuge The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife ...

. Wood wrote a regular column for the Northern Alaska Environmental Center's newsletter. She guided her last back-country trip at age 70 and continued to cross-country ski into her 80s. She died in her home in

Fairbanks, Alaska Fairbanks is a home rule city and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska and the second largest in the state. The 2020 Census put the po ...

, of natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Ginny 1917 births 2013 deaths American environmentalists American women environmentalists Aviators from Alaska People from Denali Borough, Alaska People from Fairbanks, Alaska Place of birth missing University of Washington alumni Women Airforce Service Pilots personnel 21st-century American women