MADISON, Wis. — On Earth Day, an important Wisconsin conservationist being remembered for a legacy that reminds us of the challenges to come.
The historic work of Aldo Leopold, and those who’ve followed him, is now telling people more about the world we live in today and showing us how climate change might be happening in our own backyard.
Leopold spent a great deal of time at a farm in Sauk County. Readers of his book, “A Sand County Almanac,” might know the place that he wrote from as “the Shack.” But beyond his essays, Leopold kept meticulous notes on the dates and times of when he observed things happening in nature, like the blooming of wildflowers and the return of birds. That work was continued by his daughter after his death in 1948. She kept records from 1975 to 2004, WISC-TV reported.
Now, Stanley Temple, a University of Wisconsin professor emeritus and senior fellow at the Aldo Leopold Foundation, is looking at the numbers, and he said that they give a greater glimpse at climate change.