Evironmental Timeline

Pennsylvania colony governor William Penn ordered colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut down.

Mar 22, 1681

Pennsylvania colony governor William Penn ordered colonists to conserve one tree for every five cut down.

Congress passed the Yellowstone Act, making Yellowstone the first national park "dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and "for the preservation, from injury or spoilation, of all timber

Mar 22, 1872

The Lacey Act prohibited the transport of illegally obtained wildlife across state lines, and outlawed hunting in Yellowstone National Park.

Mar 22, 1900

In his annual message to Congress, President Roosevelt suggested, “provisions should be made for preservation of the bison,” calling it a “real misfortune” should the species become extinct. The American bison population, once 70 million, had dwindled to

Mar 22, 1905

Congress established the National Park Service. Today there are approximately 400 national parks across America, comprising approximately 4% of the entire U.S., or 84.6 billion acres of preserved land.

Mar 22, 1916

Salt Lake City was the first U.S. city to conduct a large scale survey of air pollution.

Mar 22, 1926

Congress passed the Soil Conservation and Domestic Allotment Act in an effort to control Dust Bowl storms, erosion, land use and conservation. Over 100,000,000 acres of U.S. prairie land were affected by the Dust Bowl. The catastrophe inspired the large

Mar 22, 1935

Congress passed the Bald Eagle Preservation Act to prevent the extinction of the national symbol. The bald eagle was removed from the endangered species list in 2007.

Mar 22, 1940

The Antarctic Treaty protected Antarctica from the dumping of nuclear waste. To date, 46 countries, including the United States and the former Soviet Union have signed the treaty.

Mar 22, 1959

Rachel Carson published Silent Spring, which warned about the dangers of pesticides, especially DDT, to water supplies and wildlife. The federal government outlawed the use of pesticides like DDT several years later.

Mar 22, 1962