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The Plymouth Colony passes a law restricting the cutting and selling of timber.
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The people of Newport, Rhode Island pass a law restricting deer hunting to six months of the year.
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William Penn declares that one acre of land should remain forested for every five acres which are cut.
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The first national park, Yellowstone, is established.
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American Forests is founded with the intention of preserving forests and our planet. Originally known as the American Forestry Association and lead by John Aston Warder.
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The Appalachian Mountain Club is founded in Boston by Edward Pickering and 33 others to promote the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of mountains, forests, and trails in the Appalachian region.
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The Boone and Crockett Club is founded to promote the conservation and management of wildlife, especially big game.
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Congress passes the Creative Act, converting a portion of publicly owned forests into protected forest reserves.
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The Forest Reserve Act converts forest reserves established in the Creative Act into national forests and charges their managers with the task of improving and protecting the nation's supplies of wood and water.
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The Sierra Club is founded by John Muir to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet.
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The American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society is founded by Andrew Haswell Green as "as a national organization of men and women for the protection of natural scenery and the preservation of historic landmarks in city or country...."
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Ernest Thompson Seton founds the Woodcraft Indians in Connecticut in order to preserve the wilderness knowledge of Native Americans.
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Seton speaks before the U.S. Congress in favor of legislation, authored by William T. Hornaday, which protects migratory birds.
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The Bureau of Forestry becomes the Forest Service due to a handover to the Department of Agriculture.
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Daniel Carter Beard founds the Sons of Daniel Boone, which teaches boys about nature, conservation, and outdoorsmanship.
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M.C. Marsh publishs a study showing the effects of industrial waste on fish.
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Seton and Beard merge their organizations into the Boy Scouts of America, founded by William D. Boyce.
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Congress establishes the National Park Service to care for and maintain national parks.
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The Izaak Walton League of America is founded by avid anglers to converse, maintain, protect, and restore the world's natural resources.
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The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 establishes multiple-use management of forests.
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Silent Spring SummaryRachel Carson publishes Silent Spring, a book about the environmental hazards posed by the use of DDT.
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The first Earth Day is celebrated, sparking an environmental movement in the United States and leading to the creation of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (U.S.E.P.A.), the Council on Environmental Quality, and a number of state and local environmental agencies.
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The New York Audubon Society is founded to conserve and restore natural ecosystems in the state of New York.