Word: naturalists
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...liked the idea of the critters croaking in his garden. They're now an ecological menace. Weighing up to a kilo, these voracious predators gorge on crustaceans, fish, other frogs, salamanders and even the occasional bird. "It's capable of attacking anything it can swallow," says Tony Dejean, the naturalist at Périgord-Limousin leading the operation. Worse, it was recently discovered that bullfrogs carry chytrid fungus, which kills other amphibians. Prior attempts to eradicate invasive species have failed in France. But the park service has already killed thousands of the frogs, their tadpoles and eggs, and residents nearby...
...chemicals used to preserve hides upset the decorum of her parlor. But nature and the science of nature were the solace of Roosevelt's invalid childhood, a refuge where he could achieve intellectual mastery at a young age. Under his father's loving tutelage, T.R. fashioned himself into a naturalist whose specimens can be viewed in museums today; scientists later welcomed him as an equal into their debates about how to classify species...
...made his decision that night. Before the first rays of sunlight seeped through the thin tent walls, he summoned his remaining strength and called out to George Cherrie, a naturalist who, along with Roosevelt's son Kermit, had been keeping a vigil over the feverish ex-President. Turning to his friend and his son, Roosevelt said, "Boys, I realize that some of us are not going to finish this journey. Cherrie, I want you and Kermit to go on. You can get out. I will stop here...
...Roosevelt, the opportunity was irresistible. Not only did it appeal to him as a naturalist and would-be explorer, but it was also precisely the difficult adventure he was longing for. Throughout his life, he had battled depression and loss by seeking out dangerous physical challenges and pushing himself to the limit of his endurance. This expedition was a chance to prove his strength and reclaim his sense of purpose. It was a chance for redemption...
Another of Roosevelt's legacies was an unambiguous gift to the future. Teddy was never more himself than when he was outdoors. He loved nature, knew the songs of dozens of birds, loved to ride, climb, hike and shoot. As a boy he wanted to be a naturalist, and as a President he became the first to make environmentalism a political issue. Under the tutelage of his friends--naturalist and Sierra Club founder John Muir, who convinced Teddy that the Federal Government would be a better protector of parkland than the states, and U.S. Forest Service chief Gifford Pinchot...