ABSTRACT
Like most natural resource professionals, Jay N. (Ding) Darling loved the outdoors and nature in his youth, as he explored the rivers and prairies in western Iowa and the eastern Dakotas. He studied biology in college and became a Pulitzer Prize winner twice as a political cartoonist, promoting conservation and protection of land and wildlife. He led in building government institutions at the state and federal level by helping establish the first Fish and Wildlife Cooperative Research Unit at Iowa State College, serving as the Director of the U.S. Biological Survey, creating the Duck Stamp permit system for hunting, and cofounding the National Wildlife Federation. Natural resource leaders for modern times include David Attenborough, whose pioneering nature films attracted and influenced television viewers throughout the world. A series of pathbreaking women have since led movements for natural resource protection of forests, reducing climate change, fair treatment of indigenous communities, and women’s rights—Wangari Maathai in Africa, Marina Silva in Brazil, and, of course, Greta Thunberg, who is the quintessential leader for current times, fighting for action to prevent climate change with verve, science, and skill. Last, Bob Brown led a host of environmental and social reforms in Australia, and astronaut Christina Koch from North Carolina provides a contemporary example of a scientific professional.
