Hessel in Mackinac County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Aldo Leopold and Les Cheneaux
In 1898, Carl Leopold purchased a summer cottage on Marquette Island, visible from here across Mackinac Bay. His family, including son Aldo, traveled there each summer from their home in Iowa. Aldo’s summers on the island were the start of a lifetime dedicated to the study of nature. His professional career included nine-teen years with the U.S. Forest Service and fifteen years at the University of Wisconsin teaching wildlife management. In his book A Sand County Almanac and Sketches Here and There, Leopold defined his concept of a land ethic. He believed that people were stewards of the land and that the natural environment should be viewed as a community, not a commodity.
As a young man, conservationist Aldo Leopold (1887-1948) explored the Les Cheneaux area with family and friends. His brother Frederic wrote, “Aldo knew most of the island intimately. He produced several handmade maps artistically decorated and illustrated with typical trees, animals and birds in appropriate places. All of the trails were shown including some newer trails which he himself created.” Leopold continued to visit the Les Cheneaux area after his graduation from Yale Forestry School in 1909. As a prolific author, researcher and educator whose works still influence the field, Aldo Leopold is widely considered to be a founder of the conservation movement in America.
Erected 2015 by Michigan Historical Commission and Michigan Historical Center. (Marker Number S735.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Horticulture & Forestry • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1898.
Location. 46° 0.357′ N, 84° 24.939′ W. Marker is in Hessel, Michigan, in Mackinac County. Marker is on Michigan 134 (Michigan Route 134) half a mile east of South Islandview Road, on the right when traveling east. The marker is in the Mackinac Island Nature Preserve scenic turnout on the south side of M-134. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Cedarville MI 49719, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 15 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Nicolet Watch Tower (approx. 13.8 miles away); Arch Rock (approx. 13.8 miles away); Dwightwood Spring (approx. 13.8 miles away); Sugar Loaf (approx. 13.9 miles away); Fort Holmes (approx. 14 miles away); a different marker also named Fort Holmes (approx. 14.1 miles away); Skull Cave (approx. 14.2 miles away); Home Of The Ancestors (approx. 14.2 miles away).
Also see . . . Aldo Leopold. Excerpt:
Leopold was influential in the development of modern environmental ethics and in the movement for wilderness conservation. His ethics of nature and wildlife preservation had a profound impact on the environmental movement, with his ecocentric or holistic ethics regarding land. He emphasized biodiversity and ecology and was a founder of the science of wildlife management.(Submitted on January 2, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.)
Credits. This page was last revised on January 5, 2023. It was originally submitted on January 2, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. This page has been viewed 106 times since then and 10 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on January 2, 2023, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.