My friends, who know I live in a foxhunting paradise, regularly ask, "What's it like there?" My reply has always been, "It's like living in a national park, just privately managed." It's true. Any Facebook friend of Mark Deane, Juliet Graham, Eva Smithwick (and more) regularly see photography that rivals any national park I have ever visited.

Recently, I have read two books that explain the connection to national parks, and the Piedmont Valley may be far closer than I thought. I'll connect the first two here. Next month, I'll tie those names to the author of the modern conservation easement, Stephen J. Small. It's fascinating to learn how we have developed the mindset (and the tools) to protect the land we love privately.

First, Book One. "American Sportsmen and the Origins of Conservation, by John F. Reiger," recommended by Michelle Guzman (George L. Ohrstrom, Jr. Head Librarian at The National Sporting Library and Museum.) She said, "It's proof the environmental movement in America originated with hunters and fishermen."

Reiger explains that in the late 1850s, America was teeming with wildlife. So much so that depletion was presumed inexhaustible. Herds of bison roamed in the millions. Passenger pigeon flocks were so large. The sky grew black when they flew overhead. Because they could, market hunters took wasteful kills that eventually threatened those species and more. The last passenger pigeon died in a zoo in 1914 and is now extinct. True sportsmen rallied to wrest control. The editor of Forest and Stream, George Bird Grinnell, used his pages to promote a movement that would separate greed and excess from those who hunted for pure sport.

He inspired those from an old family, highly educated and monied backgrounds that shared his contempt for what was becoming a society of Philistines, noted only for their plunder. With their resources, this privileged class of Vanderbilts, Rockefellers, and Harrimans (and many other wealthy friends) defined the popularity of sport and habitat, not pillage.

By 1878, Grinnell's group had established more than 308 sportsmen's clubs. Fourteen were devoted solely to foxhunting. For nearly all of them, the forest was as important as the wildlife. Without the trees, there could be no wildlife. The Bisby Club (1871) and The Ausable Club (1886) protected wildlife, woodlands, and clean water in the Adirondacks. Popular sportsmen and political leaders like Teddy Roosevelt and Gifford Pinchot thought to protect this area as state parkland. Here in Virginia, foxhunting was organizing under the leadership of Harry Worcester Smith. His American-English Foxhound Trial of 1905 described our bounty in the media. Land prices would jump from $50/acre to more than $250/acre to enjoy the land's sport and beauty.

Grinnell, Roosevelt, and Pinchot (Roosevelt's Chief Forester) were inspired to use their political and publishing platforms to set aside land in parks that protected the wildlife and woodlands in perpetuity. Yellowstone was one of their first. Same as here, they saw themselves as "participants" in protection but needed federal designation to define laws and order.

Next, Book Two. The Hunt Country of America Then and Now, by Kitty Slater, also at NSLM. Slater knew everyone. A definitive work, if you want to understand how we arrived here as foxhunters, you have to read this history.

Slater recounts that Franklin Roosevelt, Jr. was a frequent visitor to Llangollen for epic foxhunting weekends. Theodore Roosevelt's handwritten manuscripts documenting his foxhunting exploits on Long Island in 1886 are proudly on display in the rare book room at NSLM, as well. Since Harry Worcester Smith had founded The Masters of Foxhounds Association, then in New York City, I cannot think he did not meet the Roosevelts at some point. Regardless, our local leaders' like-minded thinking established more than 15 area foxhunting clubs recognized by the Smith's MFHA today. Federal designation defining protection was unnecessary. The Harriman name spans both books. In Reiger's book, Edward H. Harriman is credited with helping Roosevelt protect Yosemite Valley. In Slater's book, he is described as a prestigious resident from NY who parked his private car on the tracks at The Plains Depot, where he combined foxhunting and management of his expansive financial empire. Remarkably, that depot is just 150 yards from our offices today.

From Smith to Joe B. Thomas, to Randolphs, Harpers, Mellons, Warburgs, Ohrstroms, Guests, and Whitneys, Slater documents how the various foxhunting families evolved using their clubs to protect the habitat and open space privately. Beyond our own region, the same mindset, often the same people, was the genesis of conservation across America today. Then, as now, it has been a torch we responsibly pass.

Eventually, the leadership knew we would need more than wealth to protect the land. In the next issue, we discuss the birth of the conservation easement and the various other tools we have developed to protect the land and the habitat. One thing is certain. Thanks to these people, the land we love will always be how we see it today, long after we are all gone. While I sleep better at night, I know our job is not done. Want to learn more? Register for my webinar on January 12 on Nutrient Banking: What's in it For You? This, my friends, is what's next.