John Clark Salyer II
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John Clark Salyer II (August 16, 1902, in
Higginsville, Missouri Higginsville is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, within the United States. The population was 4,817 at the 2020 census. History Higginsville was founded in 1869 and named after Harvey Higgins, the original owner of the town site. A post of ...
– August 16, 1966) was an American environmentalist and government administrator.


Biography

After earning a B.A. at Central College in
Fayette, Missouri Fayette is a city in and the county seat of Howard County, Missouri, United States. It is part of the Columbia, Missouri Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city's population was 2,803 at the 2020 census. History Fayette was laid out in 1823. ...
, in 1927, he attended the
University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...
where he received his MS in 1930. He taught science in the public schools of
Parsons, Kansas Parsons is a city in Labette County, Kansas, Labette County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 9,600. It is the most populous city of Labette County, and the second-most pop ...
, and as a Professor of
Biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...
at Bethel College,
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, for several years, before accepting a position with the
Iowa Fish and Game Commission Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
in 1933. Soon after being appointed as the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling began searching for an individual to manage the bureau's fledgling refuge program. Having been acquainted with Salyer's work for a number of years, Darling recruited Salyer in June 1934 to oversee the management of
national wildlife refuges The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the Department of the Interior. The National Wildlife Refuge System i ...
. At first, Salyer was reluctant to leave the University of Michigan for a permanent job with the Bureau of Biological Survey in
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According to George Laycock in his book ''The Sign of the Flying Goose'', Darling convinced Salyer to take a year's leave of absence from his position to assess waterfowl projects across the country. Salyer was directed by Darling to develop a waterfowl management program using the conservation principles of
wildlife management Wildlife management is the management process influencing interactions among and between wildlife, its Habitat, habitats and people to achieve predefined impacts. Wildlife management can include wildlife conservation, population control, gamekeepi ...
espoused by Aldo Leopold. Such a program, based on habitat needs of
migratory bird Bird migration is a seasonal movement of birds between breeding and wintering grounds that occurs twice a year. It is typically from north to south or from south to north. Migration is inherently risky, due to predation and mortality. Th ...
species, had never before been attempted on a national scale. Salyer later accepted a permanent position with the Bureau on December 17, 1934. Shortly after coming to work for the Biological Survey in 1934, the government issued him a car to travel around the country visiting refuges. Salyer had a
fear of flying Fear of flying is the fear of being on an aircraft, such as an airplane or helicopter, while it is in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia (although aero ...
, so this vehicle provided him with the means to visit refuges in far-flung locations. According to Laycock, "within six weeks, he (Salyer) had driven 18,000 miles (29,000 km) and drawn up plans for 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) of new refuge lands." Refuge managers reported that Salyer would drive hundreds of miles each day in his government-issued Oldsmobile to visit their refuge, then stay with the family overnight or for a meal before commencing on his journey to inspect another refuge on his itinerary. His memory of refuges and projects he inspected was remarkably clear until the day he died. Even after going blind shortly before his retirement, Salyer could recall the specifics of many of the locations he had visited throughout his career during Congressional and Departmental briefings. For his efforts as head of the Division of Wildlife Refuges, Salyer has become known as the "Father of the
National Wildlife Refuge System The National Wildlife Refuge System (NWRS) is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior, Department of the Interi ...
". Under his direction, the system rose in area from 1.5 million acres (6,100 km2) in the mid-1930s to nearly 29 million acres (120,000 km2) upon his retirement in 1961. Salyer was the principal architect for President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), also known as FDR, was the 32nd president of the United States, serving from 1933 until his death in 1945. He is the longest-serving U.S. president, and the only one to have served ...
's duck restoration program of 1934–36. After nearly 30 years of service, health problems forced Salyer into retirement as Chief of Refuge Management in 1961. He maintained his connection with the
Fish and Wildlife Service A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fins and a hard skull, but lacking limbs with digits. Fish can be grouped into the more basal jawless fish and the more common jawed fis ...
in an advisory capacity until his death on his birthday, August 16, 1966. In 1966, the Fish and Wildlife Service renamed the Lower Souris National Wildlife Refuge in
North Dakota North Dakota ( ) is a U.S. state in the Upper Midwest, named after the indigenous Dakota people, Dakota and Sioux peoples. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Saskatchewan and Manitoba to the north and by the U.S. states of Minneso ...
as the J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge to honor his legacy of contributions to the preservation of America's wildlife. Salyer is survived by his grandson, John Clark Salyer IV, a constitutional lawyer who has worked for the
American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is an American nonprofit civil rights organization founded in 1920. ACLU affiliates are active in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. The budget of the ACLU in 2024 was $383 million. T ...
, as a Brennen Fellow and as a staff attorney. He is currently the legal director for the Arab American Family Support Center and a professor at
Barnard College Barnard College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college affiliated with Columbia University in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a grou ...
.


See also

*
History of the National Wildlife Refuge System The National Wildlife Refuge System in the United States has a long and distinguished history. Early years (1864–1920) In January, 1902, a plan was hatched by members of the Boone and Crockett Club to create a system of wildlife refuges acros ...
* J. Clark Salyer National Wildlife Refuge


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Salyer, John Clark II 1902 births 1966 deaths American environmentalists University of Michigan alumni People from Higginsville, Missouri