The Presidents of Conservation

Across nearly 250 years, no single group has shaped America’s wild lands more than its presidents. From Jefferson's Corps of Discovery to Nixon’s Environmental Protection Agency, executive action has repeatedly redrawn the map of what we protect—and what we lose. We take a look at the commanders-in-chief whose decisions have defined our public lands, and how the last 25 years are reshaping the balance between preservation, access, and use.