This is the principle by which Pinchot contributed the environmental movement. "Pinchot set out to prove that forestry could both produce timber for harvest and maintain the forest for future generations" (1). He studied forestry and was very adamant about conserving as many national forests as possible. While working under President Theodore Roosevelt, Pinchot was appointed head of the Division of Forestry (in the Department of Agriculture) and raised the number of conserved national forests from 32 to 149 in about twelve years time. He was later appointed chairman of the National Conservation Committee and was in charge of keeping inventory of natural resources in the U.S. When he was fired by President Taft, Pinchot created his own organization called the National Conservation Association so that he might still continue to have influence over the conservation of forests. The two main goals of this organization were: "to give the national forests over to the states, and to control power development on government property" (1).
As head of the Forest Service, Pinchot traveled all over the country educating people about the many uses of public lands, such as grazing, agriculture and lumbering. He believed that forest management should be profitable, and by teaching this utilitarian approach, he upset many environment preservationists in the process.
(1) http://www.fs.fed.us/gt/local-links/historical-info/gifford/gifford.shtml
(2) http://www.frumforum.com/gifford-pinchot-conservation-and-contention/
