Wild Women for Good : Stories of Conservation in Texas

Women have been shaping the conservation movement in Texas since the nineteenth century, though their stories are rarely told. Women played an invaluable role in the establishment of parks, protection of wildlife, developing policies that value nature, and defending communities against pollution and destruction of habitat. Their efforts enriched and reinforced the natural heritage of Texas. Wild Women for Good: Stories of Conservation in Texas celebrates those who dared to step forward to make a difference and to tell the complex story of conservation in the Lone Star state.

Wild Women for Good spans a century and a half of conservationists—rural and urban—contributing to policy that protected natural resources and bolsters our relationship with the resources. Opening with the first Texas Audubon Clubs and early birdwatchers, author Jennifer L. Bristol details their banding together to prevent the extinction of many native bird species killed for their plumage. This joining of forces culminated in the passage of the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty Act, criminalizing the selling or hunting of migratory birds, their eggs, or their feathers. From there, Bristol explores the key roles women played in creating additional policies and parks to ensure the beauty and biodiversity of Texas for generations to come. Wild Women for Good concludes with an eye toward the future and an environmental movement that is more diverse and politicized than the original activists—then primarily wealthy white women—who started it over a century ago.

Bristol covers over forty individuals and groups: environmental policy makers, famous first ladies, and those who were early champions of land trusts and conservation easements. These are women whose stories are as integral to the state’s history as the natural landscapes they worked to preserve.