"But now the edict has gone forth that the woodland must be cleared; every forest must be hewn down. We are told over and over again that Iowa has less waste land than any state in the union, that she has hardly an acre that may not pass under the plow; and in our effort to make good our boast we are in danger of committing irretrievable damage upon what was indeed the most magnificent heritage of this whole Mississippi valley...
I have left out of view in this argument entirely the aesthetic side of this question, the necessity of streams and lakes and woodlands to the aesthetic side of human nature. The absolute need of the milder healing influences of natural beauty to our eager, anxious, overworked, care-burdened, gain-seeking people. Nor have I touched at all the sentimental side to the problem.
I have said nothing of Iowa as a home, as a land suitable in which to rear generation after generation of wise and happy children who shall grow up to love the place of their nativity and nurture; I argue now only for Iowa as a field, a great field enclosed by wires from which may still be forwarded train-load after train-load of corn and beef. The drainage of our prairies, the destruction of what little woods we have, these two things do, in my judgment threaten our wealth, threaten our hope of gain, and therefor ought to command the attention of our people to any reasonable discussion of the question and to commend any effort made to attain a definite knowledge of the truth."
Iowa Parks: Conservation of Iowa Historic, Scenic and Scientific Areas. Published 1919
