Western Illinois University

A Foundation for Sustainable Rural Community Development

Roosevelt’s Commissions and Conferences

The Country Life Commission

In August, 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt created the Country Life Commission, chaired somewhat reluctantly by Liberty Hyde Bailey of Cornell University “to direct the attention of the nation to the problems of the farm, and also for securing the necessary knowledge of the actual conditions of life in the open country” (Roosevelt, 1924, p. 413-414). Funding for the commission, whose members were all volunteers, came from the Russell Sage Foundation.

Commission Members

Country Life Leadership

The Public Lands Commission

The first of several commissions President Theodore Roosevelt created, the purpose of the Public Lands Commission was to assess land laws of the time and recommend amendments that would allocate public lands to benefit settlers and citizens.

The Inland Waterways Commission

President Theodore Roosevelt's Inland Waterways Commission, appointed March 14, 1907, called attention to the value of streams as natural resources and the need for a progressive plan for their development and control. Roosevelt requested the commission to regard the country’s water systems as a vital natural resource and conserve them for future use.

The Commission’s report outlined waterway improvements for transportation and accommodating commercial interests, as well as the needs of the growing country. The report presented new concepts, including cooperation between the states and the federal government in the administration and use of waterways.

The Conference of Governors

The Conference of Governors, funded largely by Gifford Pinchot and called by President Theodore Roosevelt to consider resource conservation, met at the White House May 13-15, 1908. Attendees included state and territorial governors, members of the Supreme Court and the Cabinet, scientists, and other national leaders. The governors adopted a declaration supporting conservation, and the conference led to the appointment of 38 state conservation commissions. This 1908 meeting was the beginning of the annual governors' conferences.

The National Conservation Commission

The National Conservation Commission, appointed by President Theodore Roosevelt on June 8, 1908, as a result of the Conference of Governors held in May, prepared the first inventory of natural resources in the United States. The commission was divided into four sections: water, forests, lands, and minerals. Gifford Pinchot, a member of the Country Life Commission, was chair of the executive committee.

Joint Conservation Congress

The Joint Conservation Congress met in December, 1908, to receive the three-volume report of the National Conservation Commission. The congress was attended by 20 governors, representatives of 22 state conservation commissions, and leaders from various national organizations.

The North American Conservation Conference

The North American Conservation Conference convened at President Theodore Roosevelt's invitation to the White House on February 18, 1909. At the end of the five-day session, participants adopted a declaration of principles. Congress called for an international conservation conference. Roosevelt endorsed the idea, but no meeting was held. The North American conference grew out of Roosevelt’s successes with the Conference of Governors and the Joint Conservation Congress. In calling the conference, Roosevelt said: "It is evident that natural resources are not limited by the boundary lines which separate nations, and that the need for conserving them upon this continent is as wide as the area upon which they exist" (Theodore Roosevelt Association).

Roosevelt, Forests, and Conservation

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