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This is a list of people who were, are, or have been prominent conservationists.
Environmentalist An environmentalist is a person who is concerned with and/or advocates for the protection of the environment. An environmentalist can be considered a supporter of the goals of the environmental movement, "a political and ethical movement that se ...
s would also work on conservation issues.


List of conservationists


A

*
Edward Abbey Edward Paul Abbey (January 29, 1927 – March 14, 1989) was an American author, essayist, and environmental activist noted for his advocacy of environmental issues and criticism of public land policies. His best-known works include '' Desert S ...
 – writer and wilderness activist * Ansel Adams – wilderness and landscape photographer *
Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury } Anthony Ashley-Cooper, 10th Earl of Shaftesbury Bt (22 May 1938 – c. 5 November 2004), styled Lord Ashley between 1947 and 1961, and Earl of Shaftesbury from 1961 until his death, was a British peer from Wimborne St Giles, Dorset, England. H ...
 – former president of Sir David Attenborough's British Butterfly Conservation Society *
Damian Aspinall John Damian Androcles Aspinall (born 24 May 1960) is an English businessman and conservationist. He has raised and released a number of zoo-bred lowland gorillas in Gabon. Early life Aspinall is the son of Jane Gordon Hastings and John Victor ...
 – chairman of
The Aspinall Foundation The Aspinall Foundation (formerly The John Aspinall Foundation) is a British charity (Registered Charity 326567) which works to promote wildlife conservation. It was set up by casino owner John Aspinall in 1984 and runs the two zoos he establish ...
* David Attenborough  – host of many BBC Natural History documentaries, naturalist, educator


B

*
Jeannie Baker Jeannie Baker is an English-born Australian children's picture book author and artist, known for her collage illustrations and her concern for the natural environment. Her books have won many awards. Biography Baker was born in London, Englan ...
 – artist/author of children's picture books and film maker * Nena Baltazar – President of
Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi Comunidad Inti Wara Yassi (CIWY) is a Bolivian non-governmental organization dedicated to environmental education and the care of sick, mistreated and abandoned wildlife. It is the country's largest destination for confiscated wildlife and curren ...
, a Bolivian nongovernmental organization working in conservation and wildlife care * S. Theodore Baskaran – wildlife conservationist * Tom Bell – founder of the
Wyoming Outdoor Council The Wyoming Outdoor Council is the oldest independent, membership-based conservation organization in Wyoming, United States. Wyoming native Tom Bell founded the group in 1967, along with Carrol R. Noble, Margaret E. “Mardy” Murie, Dr. Harold Mc ...
and decorated World War II veteran *
Frances Beinecke Frances G. Beinecke (born August 2, 1949) is an environmental activist and politician. She served as the former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council from 2006 to 2015. Early life and education Beinecke is the youngest of four child ...
 – President of the
Natural Resources Defense Council The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a United States-based 501(c)(3) non-profit international environmental advocacy group, with its headquarters in New York City and offices in Washington D.C., San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Bo ...
*
Harvey Broome Harvey Benjamin Broome (July 15, 1902 – March 8, 1968) was an American lawyer, writer and conservationist. A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Broome was a founding member of The Wilderness Society, for which he served as president from 1957 un ...
 – wilderness activist *
David Brower David Ross Brower (; July 1, 1912 – November 5, 2000) was a prominent environmentalist and the founder of many environmental organizations, including the John Muir Institute for Environmental Studies (1997), Friends of the Earth (1969), Earth ...
 – mid-20th century leader of the Sierra Club * Tom Brown – naturalist *
David Bellamy David James Bellamy (18 January 1933 – 11 December 2019) was an English botanist, television presenter, author and environmental campaigner. Early and personal life Bellamy was born in London to parents Winifred May (née Green) and Thoma ...
 – botanist and environmental campaigner


C

* Arthur Carhart – U.S. Forest Service official who inspired wilderness protection in the United States *
Archie Carr Archie Fairly Carr, Jr. (June 16, 1909 – May 21, 1987) was an American herpetologist, ecologist, and conservationist. He was a Professor of Zoology at the University of Florida and an acclaimed writer on science and nature. He brought attentio ...
 – zoology professor and herpetologist, prominent sea turtle conservationist *
Rachel Carson Rachel Louise Carson (May 27, 1907 – April 14, 1964) was an American marine biologist, writer, and conservationist whose influential book '' Silent Spring'' (1962) and other writings are credited with advancing the global environmental ...
 – scientist who advanced the global environmental movement *
Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...
 – signed the
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) is a United States federal law signed by President Jimmy Carter on December 2, 1980. ANILCA provided varying degrees of special protection to over of land, including national parks, n ...
in 1980, which protected more land than any single piece of legislation ever passed by Congress *
Yvon Chouinard Yvon Chouinard (born November 9, 1938) is an American rock climber, environmentalist, philanthropist and outdoor industry businessman. His company, Patagonia, is known for its commitment to protecting the environment. Chouinard is also a surf ...
 – environmentalist and outdoor industry businessman. Owner of the company Patagonia, known for its environmental focus. * Frederic Edwin Church – American landscape painter, famous for ''Twilight in the Wilderness'' *
Eugenie Clark Eugenie Clark (May 4, 1922 – February 25, 2015), popularly known as The Shark Lady, was an American ichthyologist known for both her research on shark behavior and her study of fish in the order Tetraodontiformes. Clark was a pioneer in the fie ...
 – conservationist of sharks * Clem Coetzee – (c. 1939–7 September 2006) Zimbabwean conservationist. He developed new methods of big game conservation. * Ernie Cooper – Canadian wildlife trade expert *
Jeff Corwin Jeffrey Corwin (born July 11, 1967) is an American biologist and wildlife conservationist, known for hosting Disney Channel's '' Going Wild with Jeff Corwin'', ''The Jeff Corwin Experience'' on Animal Planet, ABC's ''Ocean Mysteries with J ...
 –
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
host, herpetologist * Adjany Costa – Angolan marine biologist * Jacques Cousteau – oceanographer, marine biologist * Cynthia Mbabazi – advocate, researcher


D

*
Marjory Stoneman Douglas Marjory Stoneman Douglas (April 7, 1890 – May 14, 1998) was an American journalist, author, women's suffrage advocate, and conservationist known for her staunch defense of the Everglades against efforts to drain it and reclaim land for d ...
 – writer/conservationist who founded Friends of the Everglades *
William O. Douglas William Orville Douglas (October 16, 1898January 19, 1980) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, who was known for his strong progressive and civil libertarian views, and is often ci ...
 – U.S. Supreme Court Justice who was an ardent conservationist. William O. Douglas Wilderness is named after him * Iain Douglas-Hamilton – founder of
Save the Elephants Save the Elephants (STE) is a UK registered charity based in Kenya founded in September 1993 by Iain Douglas-Hamilton. Save the Elephants works to sustain elephant populations and preserve the habitats in which elephants are found, while at the ...
, zoologist *
Gerald Durrell Gerald Malcolm Durrell, (7 January 1925 – 30 January 1995) was a British naturalist, writer, zookeeper, conservationist, and television presenter. He founded the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Jersey Zoo on the Channel Island o ...
 – naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, writer, television presenter, founder of the Jersey Wildlife Conservation Trust (now
Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust is a conservation organization with a mission to save species from extinction. Gerald Durrell founded the Jersey Wildlife Preservation Trust as a charitable institution in 1963 with the dodo as its symbol. T ...
) and the Jersey Zoo (now renamed
Durrell Wildlife Park Jersey Zoo (formerly Durrell Wildlife Park) is a zoological park established in 1959 on the island of Jersey in the English Channel by naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell (1925–1995). It is operated by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust. ...
)


E

*
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, ...
 – 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 wildli ...
became a federally protected wilderness area during his administration *
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...
 – author, naturalist, wilderness adventurer, activist and development critic


F

*
Dian Fossey Dian Fossey (, January 16, 1932 – ) was an American primatologist and conservationist known for undertaking an extensive study of mountain gorilla groups from 1966 until her murder in 1985. She studied them daily in the mountain forests of R ...
 – primatologist known for studying
gorilla Gorillas are herbivorous, predominantly ground-dwelling great apes that inhabit the tropical forests of equatorial Africa. The genus ''Gorilla'' is divided into two species: the eastern gorilla and the western gorilla, and either four or fi ...
s, author, founder of the
Digit Fund The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International (originally the Digit Fund) is a charity for the protection of endangered mountain gorillas. The Digit Fund was created by Dr. Dian Fossey in 1978 for the sole purpose of financing her anti-poaching patr ...
today known as the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, was murdered presumably by poachers because of her cause *
Bernard Frank Bernard Frank (11 October 1929, in Neuilly-sur-Seine – 3 November 2006, in Paris) was a French journalist and writer. Early life Bernard Frank was raised in a comfortable family, where his father was a bank manager. After his baccalauréat ...
 – one of the founders of The Wilderness Society


G

*
Jane Goodall Dame Jane Morris Goodall (; born Valerie Jane Morris-Goodall on 3 April 1934), formerly Baroness Jane van Lawick-Goodall, is an English primatologist and anthropologist. Seen as the world's foremost expert on chimpanzees, Goodall is best kn ...
 – primatologist known for studying chimpanzees, author, founder of the
Jane Goodall Institute The Jane Goodall Institute (JGI) is a global wildlife and environment conservation organization headquartered in Washington, DC. It was founded in 1977 by English primatologist Jane Goodall. The institute has offices in more than twenty-five coun ...
*
George Bird Grinnell George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880. ...
 – prominent early American conservationist * Bernhard Grzimek – renowned German zoo director and animal conservationist in postwar West Germany. *
Madison Grant Madison Grant (November 19, 1865 – May 30, 1937) was an American lawyer, zoologist, anthropologist, and writer known primarily for his work as a eugenicist and conservationist, and as an advocate of scientific racism. Grant is less noted f ...
– American creator of
wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. It attempts to balance the needs of wildlife with the needs of people using the best availabl ...
and co-founder of
Save the Redwoods League Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...


H

*
Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American pharmacist and politician who served as the 38th vice president of the United States from 1965 to 1969. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Mi ...
 – U.S. Senator from Minnesota in 1956 who presented the first draft of the Federal Wilderness Preservation System Bill to Congress * Celia Hunter – former president of The Wilderness Society


I

*
Steve Irwin Stephen Robert Irwin (22 February 19624 September 2006), known as "The Crocodile Hunter", was an Australian zookeeper, conservationist, television personality, wildlife educator, and environmentalist. Irwin grew up around crocodiles and ot ...
 – Australian zookeeper, documentary film maker and activist


L

*
Lyndon Baines Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
 – signed the
Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
on September 3, 1964, which permanently guaranteed millions of acres of wild land for future generations of Americans * Aldo Leopold – ecologist, forester and environmentalist; author of ''
A Sand County Almanac ''A Sand County Almanac: And Sketches Here and There'' is a 1949 non-fiction book by American ecologist, forester, and environmentalist Aldo Leopold. Describing the land around the author's home in Sauk County, Wisconsin, the collection of essa ...
'' *
A. Starker Leopold Aldo Starker Leopold (October 22, 1913 – August 23, 1983) was an American author, forester, zoologist and conservationist. He also served as professor at the University of California, Berkeley for thirty years. Throughout his life, Leopold ...
 – son of Aldo Leopold, zoologist and ecologist, writer of the
Leopold Report The Leopold Report, officially known as Wildlife Management in the National Parks, is a 1963 paper composed of a series of ecosystem management recommendations that were presented by the Special Advisory Board on Wildlife Management to United St ...


M

* Wangari Muta Maathai – Nobel Peace Prize recipient, founder of the Green Belt Movement, political activist *
Benton MacKaye Benton MacKaye ( ; March 6, 1879 – December 11, 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. He was born in Stamford, Connecticut; his father was actor and dramatist Steele MacKaye. After studying forestry at Harvard Unive ...
 – wilderness activist, founder of the
Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail (also called the A.T.), is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian ...
* Bob Marshall – principal founder of The Wilderness Society * Louis B. Marshall – constitutional lawyer who was instrumental in passing "forever wild" legislation of N.Y.S. Constitution, which permanently protected wilderness in Adirondack and Catskill Forest Preserves *
Nigel Marven Nigel Alan Marven (born 27 November 1960) is a British wildlife TV presenter, naturalist, conservationist, author, and television producer. He is best known as presenter of the BBC miniseries '' Chased by Dinosaurs'', its sequel, '' Sea Monsters ...
 – wildlife presenter and producer *
Bill Mason Bill Mason was a Canadian naturalist, author, artist, filmmaker, and conservationist, noted primarily for his popular canoeing books, films, and art as well as his documentaries on wolves. Mason was also known for including passages from Christ ...
 – wilderness author and canoeist *
Stephen Mather Stephen Tyng Mather (July 4, 1867 – January 22, 1930) was an American industrialist and conservationist who was the first director of the National Park Service. As president and owner of Thorkildsen-Mather Borax Company he became a million ...
 – conservationist who was the first director of
National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...
, as a unified federal agency to oversee
National Parks A national park is a natural park in use for conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state declares or owns. Although individua ...
administration which he ran publicity campaign to established * Malcolm McCallum – conservation biologist who publishes on biodiversity and extinction, and established the scholarly journal Herpetological Conservation and Biology. * Ian McTaggart-Cowan – Canadian zoologist, conservationist and television presenter * Rodrigo Medellín – Mexican ecologist and academic * Betty Leslie-Melville – American born writer, who along with her husband Jock Leslie-Melvile, is known for authoring ten books on conservation topics, protecting the
Rothschild's giraffe Rothschild's giraffe (''Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi'') is a subspecies of the Northern giraffe. It is one of the most endangered distinct populations of giraffe, with 1,399 mature individuals estimated in the wild in 2018. Taxonomy an ...
in Kenya, and founding the Giraffe Centre in
Lang'ata Lang'ata is a predominantly middle-class residential suburb of Nairobi in Kenya. The suburb consists of many smaller housing developments, referred to as estates. They include Nairobi Dam, Otiende, Southlands, Ngei, Jambo estate, Onyonka, Mada ...
,
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi ...
. *
Chico Mendes Francisco Alves Mendes Filho, better known as Chico Mendes (; 15 December 1944 – 22 December 1988), was a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader and environmentalist. He fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest, and advocated for the h ...
 – Brazilian environmentalist *
Sergio Rossetti Morosini Sergio Rossetti Morosini (born 1953) is a Brazilian-American Scholar, artist and author of Venetian extraction who served as Brazil's Cultural attaché in New Orleans and is dedicated to preserving the Atlantic Forest and restoring the art in st ...
 – Brazilian-American environmentalist *
Cynthia Moss Cynthia Jane Moss (born July 24, 1940) is an American ethologist and conservationist, wildlife researcher, and writer. Her studies have concentrated on the demography, behavior, social organization, and population dynamics of the African elephant ...
 – elephant behavioural specialist, ethologist, author *
John Muir John Muir ( ; April 21, 1838December 24, 1914), also known as "John of the Mountains" and "Father of the National Parks", was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, glaciologist ...
 – author and preservationist, founder of the Sierra Club * Margaret Murie – "Grandmother of the conservation movement" *
Olaus Murie Olaus Johan Murie (March 1, 1889 – October 21, 1963), called the "father of modern elk management", Teachers > Culture > Living in Kenai Fjords was a naturalist, author, and wildlife biologist who did groundbreaking field research on a variety ...
 – wilderness activist * Erni Suyanti Musabine, veterinarian involved in the conservation of Sumatran tigers


N

*
Abi Kusno Nachran Abi Kusno Nachran (1940 in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia - July 24, 2006) was an Indonesian rainforest preservation activist. Life Abi Kusno Nachran was a Dayak, born in the rainforest of Kalimantan Tengah in Borneo. As a young man, he left his ...
 – Indonesian rain forest preservation activist *
Roderick Nash Roderick Frazier Nash is a professor emeritus of history and environmental studies at the University of California Santa Barbara. He was the first person to descend the Tuolumne River using a raft. Scholarly biography Nash received his Bache ...
 – author of "Wilderness and the American Mind" *
Lone Drøscher Nielsen Lone Drøscher Nielsen (born 1964) is a Danish wildlife conservationist who established the Nyaru Menteng Orangutan Reintroduction Project in Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia in 1998. Early life and work She was born and grew up in Aabybro, Denmark. ...
 – working with
Borneo Orangutan Survival The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit non-governmental organization founded by Dr. Willie Smits in 1991 and dedicated to the conservation of the endangered Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') and its habit ...
for conservation of Bornean orangutans and
orangutan Orangutans are great apes native to the rainforests of Indonesia and Malaysia. They are now found only in parts of Borneo and Sumatra, but during the Pleistocene they ranged throughout Southeast Asia and South China. Classified in the genu ...
habitat * Henri Nsanjama – Malawian conservationist * Aletris Neils – carnivore conservationist and executive director of Conservation CATalyst


O

*
Ric O'Barry Richard "Ric" O'Barry (born Richard Barry O'Feldman; October 14, 1939) is an American animal rights activist and former animal trainer who was first recognized in the 1960s for capturing and training the five dolphins that were used in the TV se ...
 – former dolphin trainer for the TV show Flipper turned dolphin activist and conservationist, featured in the documentary '' The Cove'' *
Ernest Oberholtzer Ernest Carl Oberholtzer (February 6, 1884 – June 6, 1977) was an American explorer, author, and conservationist. Nicknamed "Ober", he was born and raised in Davenport, Iowa, but he lived most of his adult life in Minnesota. Oberholtzer atten ...
 – one of the eight founders of The Wilderness Society *
Sigurd F. Olson Sigurd Ferdinand Olson (April 4, 1899 – January 13, 1982) was an American writer, environmentalist, and advocate for the protection of wilderness. For more than thirty years, he served as a wilderness guide in the lakes and forests of the Quet ...
 – author, environmentalist, teacher, canoeist and advocate in the northern Midwest. Worked to establish Pt. Reyes, Arctic NWR, Boundary Waters Canoe Wilderness


P

* Deborah Parker –
indigenous rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...
activist, conservationist, and environmentalist who has opposed various pipeline projects and who advocates for protecting coastal waters and salmon among the Northwest Natives *
Gifford Pinchot Gifford Pinchot (August 11, 1865October 4, 1946) was an American forester and politician. He served as the fourth chief of the U.S. Division of Forestry, as the first head of the United States Forest Service, and as the 28th governor of Pennsy ...
 – conservationist, first Chief of the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
* Sharon Pincott – naturalist, wildlife conservationist, elephant behavioural specialist, author *
Ian Player Ian Cedric Audley Player DMS (15 March 1927 – 30 November 2014) was a South African international conservationist. Biography Born in Johannesburg, Player was educated at St. John's College, Johannesburg, Union of South Africa and serve ...
 – international conservationist * Carl Pope – executive director of the Sierra Club


R

*
Alan Rabinowitz Alan Robert Rabinowitz (December 31, 1953 – August 5, 2018) was an American zoologist who served as the president, CEO, and chief scientist at Panthera Corporation, a nonprofit conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 40 w ...
 – President and CEO of
Panthera Corporation Panthera Corporation, or Panthera, is a charitable organization devoted to preserving wild cats and their ecosystems around the globe. Founded in 2006, Panthera is devoted to the conservation of the world’s 40 species of wild cats and the vast ec ...
, a conservation organization devoted to protecting the world's 36 cat species *
Phil Radford Philip David Radford (born January 2, 1976) is an American activist who served as the executive director of Greenpeace USA. He is the founder and President of Progressive Power Lab, an organization that incubates companies and non-profits that b ...
 – environmental, clean energy, and democracy leader, director of Greenpeace *
Bradbury Robinson Bradbury Norton Robinson Jr. (February 1, 1884 – March 7, 1949) was a pioneering American football player, physician, nutritionist, conservationist and local politician. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin in 1903 and a ...
 – medical doctor and conservationist who published warnings in the 1940s against the use of DDT in agricultural *
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
 – set aside of federal land for national parks and nature preserves. He was also instrumental in establishing the
United States Forest Service The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...


S

*
Peter Scott Sir Peter Markham Scott, (14 September 1909 – 29 August 1989) was a British ornithologist, conservationist, painter, naval officer, broadcaster and sportsman. The only child of Antarctic explorer Robert Falcon Scott, he took an interest i ...
 – (1909–1989) founder of the
World Wildlife Fund The World Wide Fund for Nature Inc. (WWF) is an international non-governmental organization founded in 1961 that works in the field of wilderness preservation and the reduction of human impact on the environment. It was formerly named the Wo ...
and
Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) is an international wildfowl and wetland conservation charity in the United Kingdom. Its patron is Charles III, and its president is Kate Humble. History The WWT was founded in 1946 by the ornithologist a ...
and the first conservationist to be knighted (in 1973) * Charles Alexander Sheldon – the "Father of
Denali 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 ...
" * Willie Smits – working, with
Borneo Orangutan Survival The Borneo Orangutan Survival (BOS) Foundation is an Indonesian non-profit non-governmental organization founded by Dr. Willie Smits in 1991 and dedicated to the conservation of the endangered Bornean orangutan (''Pongo pygmaeus'') and its habit ...
for conservation of Bornean orangutans and orangutan habitat * Michael Soulé – (1936–2020) father of conservation biology; cofounder and first president of the
Society for Conservation Biology The Society for Conservation Biology (SCB) is an 501(c)(3) non-profit international professional organization that is dedicated to conserving biodiversity. There are over 4,000 members worldwide, including students and those in related non-academ ...
* Austin Stevens – naturalist, herpetologist, wildlife photographer, documentarian, television personality, and author


T

* Gary Tabor – founder and director o
Center for Large Landscape Conservation
*
Doug Tompkins Douglas Rainsford Tompkins (March 20, 1943 – December 8, 2015) was an American businessman, conservationist, outdoorsman, philanthropist, filmmaker, and agriculturalist. He co-founded the North Face Inc, Esprit and various environmental grou ...
and Kristine Tompkins – entrepreneurs turned conservationists; together have protected in Chile and Argentina * Henry David Thoreau – author, naturalist and development critic *
Timothy Treadwell Timothy Treadwell (born Timothy William Dexter; April 29, 1957 – October 5, 2003) was an American bear enthusiast, environmentalist, documentary filmmaker, and founder of the bear-protection organization Grizzly People. He lived among coast ...
 – documentary filmmaker, naturalist and founder of the bear-protection organization "Grizzly People"


U

* Stewart Udall – United States Secretary of the Interior when the
Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...
was signed into law by President
Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...
in 1964


V

*
Lily Venizelos Lily Venizelos ( gr, Λίλυ Βενιζέλου; born 10 April 1933) is a Greek conservationist. She founded the international NGO MEDASSET (MEDiterranean Association to Save the SEa Turtles) in 1988 and continues to serve as its president. For ...
 – Greek conservationist * Marlice van Vuuren – conservationist and broadcaster


W

*
Eric Wikramanayake Eric D. Wikramanayake is a Sri Lankan conservationist. Early life and education Born to Elanga Wikramanayake, a lawyer. His brothers are Arittha R Wikramanayake and Athula Wikramanayake. His grandfather was E. B. Wikramanayake. Educated a ...
*
Paul Watson Paul Franklin Watson (born December 2, 1950) is a Canadian-American conservation and environmental activist, who founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an anti-poaching and direct action group focused on marine conservation activism. Th ...
 – founder of the
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society (SSCS) is a non-profit, marine conservation activism organization based in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island, Washington, in the United States. Sea Shepherd employs direct action tactics to achieve its g ...
, a co-founder of Greenpeace, and the star of the television show
Whale Wars ''Whale Wars'' is a weekly American documentary-style reality television series that premiered on November 7, 2008 on the Animal Planet cable channel. The program followed Paul Watson, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, as he and ...
on
Animal Planet Animal Planet (stylized in all lowercase since 2018) is an American multinational pay television channel owned by the Warner Bros. Discovery Networks unit of Warner Bros. Discovery. First established on June 1, 1996, the network is primarily ...
that documents his organization's yearly trip to the southern ocean to disrupt the illegal activities of Japanese Whalers/ ICR. * Robert K. Watson – founder and father of LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design * David B. Wingate – saved the Bermuda petrel, or cahow, from extinction and almost single-handedly returned 15-acre Nonsuch Island, in Bermuda, to its precolonial state * E.O. Wilson – Pelligrino University Professor at Harvard University, for introducing the concept of Biophilia and making many other contributions to environmental science''Biophilia''by E.O. Wilson, Harvard University Press, 1984


Y

*
Robert Sterling Yard Robert Sterling Yard (February 1, 1861 – May 17, 1945) was an American writer, journalist, and wilderness activist. Born in Haverstraw, New York, Yard graduated from Princeton University and spent the first twenty years of his career in the ed ...
 – founding member of The Wilderness Society


Z

* Howard Zahniser – leader of The Wilderness Society, drafted the
Wilderness Act The Wilderness Act of 1964 () was written by Howard Zahniser of The Wilderness Society. It created the legal definition of wilderness in the United States, and protected 9.1 million acres (37,000 km²) of federal land. The result of a lon ...


See also

* List of conservation issues *
Environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...


References

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Conservationists The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental, and social movement that seeks to manage and protect natural resources, including animal, fungus, and plant species as well as their habitat for the f ...