E-Book Overview
Rosalie Edge (1877-1962) was the first American woman to achieve national renown as a conservationist. Dyana Z. Furmansky draws on Edge's personal papers and on interviews with family members and associates to portray an implacable, indomitable personality whose activism earned her the names "Joan of Arc" and "hellcat." A progressive New York socialite and veteran suffragist, Edge did not join the conservation movement until her early fifties. Nonetheless, her legacy of what the New Yorker called "widespread and monumental" achievements forms a crucial link between the eras defined by John Muir and Rachel Carson. An early voice against the indiscriminate use of toxins and pesticides, Edge reported evidence about the dangers of DDT fourteen years before Carson's Silent Spring was published. Today, Edge is most widely remembered for establishing Hawk Mountain Sanctuary, the world's first refuge for birds of prey. Founded in 1934 and located in eastern Pennsylvania, Hawk Mountain was cited in Silent Spring as an "especially significant" source of data. In 1930, Edge formed the militant Emergency Conservation Committee, which not only railed against the complacency of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Audubon Society, U.S. Forest Service, and other stewardship organizations but also exposed the complicity of some in the squandering of our natural heritage. Edge played key roles in the establishment of Olympic and Kings Canyon National Parks and the expansion of Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks. Filled with new insights into a tumultuous period in American conservation, this is the life story of an unforgettable individual whose work influenced the first generation of environmentalists, including the founders of the Wilderness Society, Nature Conservancy, and Environmental Defense Fund.
E-Book Content
more praise for Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy “In the years leading up to World War II, Rosalie Edge’s stinging critique of the conservation establishment rocked it to its very core. Furmansky does a wonderful job of capturing the triumphs and defeats of this indomitable spirit whose ideas and actions anticipated the modern environmental movement.”—Mark V. Barrow Jr., author of A Passion for Birds: American Ornithology after Audubon “With Dyana Furmansky’s authoritative biography, conservationist Rosalie Edge deservedly joins John Muir and Rachel Carson as a historic figure in the environmental movement. Furmansky’s story of Edge’s preservationist quests details her battles with special interests—from gun manufacturers to logging companies—that had powerfully infiltrated leading conservation organizations, as her crusades to save the nation’s natural wonders took her to Washington, D.C. During the Great Depression, Edge mapped cunning strategies to prevail, and did so, whether over fellow conservationists, federal bureaucrats, government agencies, Congress or fdr’s White House. Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy will captivate and surprise you.”—Lynn Sweet, Chicago Sun-Times “Virtually lost for fifty years, the story of Rosalie Edge is brought to life in this remarkable, engaging biography. If you call yourself an environmentalist—or simply a citizen of the earth—you have to read this book.”—Alfred Runte, author of National Parks: The American Experience “A product of extensive research, Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy chronicles the many accomplishments of a remarkable person while it reveals the often dramatic story of her life and sheds light on her times. What more can be asked of a biography? Furmansky reveals the early history of land preservation in America to be a story of intrigue, betrayal, anger, and, occasionally, victory. At the center stands a hero, Rosalie Edge—tragic, imperious, and obsessed.”—Douglas Carlson, author of Roger Tory Peterson: A Biography “In Rosalie Edge, Hawk of Mercy, Dyana Furmansky restores Rosalie Edge to her prop