A Sand County Review
📗 A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There - by Aldo Leopold (1949)
Introduction by Barbara Kingsolver - Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, essayist, and poet
Illustrated by Charles W. Schwartz - an American wildlife artist, biologist, author, conservationist, and filmmaker. (1914-1991)
Aldo Leopold c. 1942. (Courtesy of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, www.aldoleopold.org)[1]
You know, I don’t usually like to write reviews if I’ve already read other people’s opinions on the tome. I find it can sometimes distract me, or make me think about the comments made by others. I did however read the introduction by Barbara Kingsolver and it may have coloured my perception. I also know that Alberta-based biologist Lorne Fitch often quotes Aldo Leopold in his writing. It is because of Lorne’s use of these quotes that I chose to finally read this book. This was one of the books selected for the Alberta Wilderness Association’s Book Club (April 2025).
The book is a reflection of ideas that came to Leopold in and around his ‘sand farm’ in Wisconsin. The lavish prose beckons one outside.
“On April nights...we love to listen to the proceedings of the convention in the marsh. There are long periods of silence when one hears only the winnowing of snipe, the hoot of a distant owl, or the nasal clucking of some amorous coot. Then, of a sudden, a strident (goose) honk resounds, and in an instant pandemonium echoes. There is a beating of pinions on water, a rushing of dark prows propelled by churning paddles, and a general shouting by the onlookers of a vehement controversy.”
As a conservationist I found this particular paragraph (below) provided an apt description. One that made me stop and really think for awhile.
“I have read many definitions of what is a conservationist, and written not a few myself, but I suspect that the best one is written not with a pen, but with an axe. It is a matter of what a man thinks about while chopping, or while deciding what to chop. A conservationist is one who is humbly aware that with each stroke he is writing his signature on the face of his land. Signatures of course differ, whether written with axe or pen, and this is as it should be.”
Leopold gives elaborate narratives of the wildlife that exist in his State. It is a diary of sorts - being written as a monthly discussion of the movement and chatter by backyard creatures. There is a lot of writing about hunting, as Leopold appears to have been an avid hunter, but this accords with the era in which it was written. I understand the cultural and historical aspect, but I couldn’t personally relate.
Part II: Sketches Here and There provides some comments on other visited localities, including Illinois and Iowa, Arizona and New Mexico, Oregon and Utah, and even a Canadian element - Manitoba.
This wonderful quote about his observance of a tree being sawn in Illinois provides a glimpse into the not-so-recent past when falling massive trees was seen as normal - hopefully we have learned from this, but unfortunately I don’t think the forestry sector has.
“A farmer and his son are out in the yard, pulling a crosscut saw through the innards of an ancient cottonwood. The tree is so large and so old that only a foot of blade is left to pull on.
Time was when that tree was a buoy in the prairie sea. George Rogers Clark may have camped under it; buffalo may have nooned in its shade, switching flies. Every spring it roosted fluttering pigeons. It is the best historical library short of the State College, but once a year it sheds cotton on the farmer’s window screens. Of these two facts, only the second is important.”
The section on Manitoba talks about the marsh at Clandeboye (I had to look it up), and is known locally as the Delta Marsh, which “is a wetland Serengeti, a mini-Everglades of the north.”[2] Leopold speaks wistfully of the receding marshes across the prairies of North America.
Part III: The Upshot
This section starts with a colourful objection about recreationist’s motorized expansion into the countryside and their subsequent impacts to nature. Remember this was published in 1949 and All-terrain vehicles (ATVs) weren’t even a thing yet - they wouldn’t come onto the scene until 1965! [3]
The author goes on to discuss hunting and fishing limits, and the government will to kill fish-eating birds near stocked streams and lakes to ensure the catch is there for the human recreationist. “The fisherman perhaps feels no loss in the sacrifice of one kind of wildlife for another, but the ornithologist is ready to bite off ten-penny nails.” (Leopold, p 159) [4]
His disdain for hunters with ‘all the accoutrements’, and hunting for trophies is clear. But my thought was this rant was perhaps more about the competition he has for hunting. He wants to protect game resources and yet speaks of the cultural ‘right’ to hunt for ‘self-reliance’. My question is, does a man that had the means to go to Yale really need to hunt for survival? I find this whole section a bit contradictory.
I reread Part III twice because it felt a bit off for me. While his ideas may have been quite forward-thinking in his day, they are likely still somewhat controversial to today’s reader. I think I would have preferred this book without the inclusion of this last section (my two cents).
I also wish to comment on the illustrations. Too often book reviews ignore that. Charles W. Schwartz is a wonderful illustrator and his images bring the book to life in a way that words do not (a picture is truly worth a thousand words)!
Delightful squirrel - Charles W. Schwartz, A Sand County, p. 8
An example of the truly beautiful illustrations.
I suppose there is a reason why so many people quote Leopold. I too found myself highlighting many of the phrases and paragraphs inside my personal copy, for future use. I highly recommend this book, even just for the historical value. Despite its age (published in 1949) and a good portion of it focused on hunting, there are many insightful thoughts shared throughout.
Happy Reading! 📗
[1] A foundation was established in 1982, named after the author - The Aldo Leopold Foundation. Their mission is Cultivating Harmony - “to foster a land ethic through the legacy of Aldo Leopold. Inspired by his profound vision, we seek to cultivate an understanding and appreciation of our relationship with the environment on all levels, be it individuals or entire communities.”
[2] Suggett, G., and Goldsborough, G. (2015) Delta: A Prairie Marsh and Its People. Delta Marsh History Initiative. Portage la Prairie, Manitoba. ISBN: 978-0-921950-51-6 https://www.mhs.mb.ca/private/deltahistory/sample.pdf
[3] Throttle Power Sports (2022) A Brief History of ATVs. Published online October 17, 2022.
[4] Just as the Government of Alberta has no issues with culling wolves to maintain endangered caribou populations. See: Linnitt, C. (2015) Wolves Scapegoated While Alberta Government Sells Off Endangered Caribou Habitat. The Narwhal. Online Apr 8, 2015.
