Charles Alexander Sheldon (17 October 1867 – 21 September 1928) was an American conservationist and the "Father of

Denali National Park Denali National Park and Preserve, formerly known as Mount McKinley National Park, is an American national park and National preserve, preserve located in Interior Alaska, centered on Denali, the highest mountain in North America. The park and co ...

". He had a special interest in the bighorn sheep and spent time hunting with the Seri Indians in

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora ( en, Free and Sovereign State of Sonora), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into 72 municipalities; the ...

, Mexico, who knew him as ''Maricaana Caamla'' ("American hunter"). Another favorite haunt was the lakes and rivers which later became

Kejimkujik National Park Kejimkujik National Park () is a National Park of Canada, covering in the southwest of Nova Scotia peninsula. Located within three municipalities, Annapolis, Queens, Digby, it consists of two separate land areas: an inland part, which is coinc ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native En ...

where Sheldon built a cabin at Beaverskin Lake. In December 1905, Sheldon was elected member of the

Boone and Crockett Club The Boone and Crockett Club is an American nonprofit organization that advocates fair chase hunting in support of habitat conservation. The club is North America's oldest wildlife and habitat conservation organization, founded in the United S ...

, a wildlife conservation organization founded by

Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...

and

George Bird Grinnell George Bird Grinnell (September 20, 1849 – April 11, 1938) was an American anthropologist, historian, naturalist, and writer. Grinnell was born in Brooklyn, New York, and graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in 1870 and a Ph.D. in 1880 ...

in 1887. The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge in northwestern

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...

is named in Sheldon's honor.

Bibliography

*''The Wilderness of the North Pacific Coast Islands'' *''The Wilderness of the Upper Yukon'' *''The Wilderness of Denali''

References

External links

Charles Sheldon: One Man’s Quest to Create the Alaskan Park
1867 births 1928 deaths American conservationists Place of birth missing Place of death missing {{environmentalist-stub