The Roots of Conservation at The Camp-Fire Club of America

The Camp-Fire Club of America was founded in 1897 to promote the conservationist and outdoor spirit.

At the end of the 19th century, America’s wilderness, wildlife, and natural resources were under considerable pressure of unregulate exploitation by commercial and private interests. Camp-Fire members realized what was at stake and took action.

On July 10, 1909, a letter signed by Ernest Thompson Seton, President, and by Dr. William Hornaday, a member of the Board of Governors of the Camp-Fire Club of America, read in part as follows:

It is the sentiment of a large majority of the Board of Governors that it is the bounded duty of the Club to enter actively into the general cause of wildlife protection, and do everything possible for the enforcement of existing game laws, for the creation of more game preserves and for enactment of such other protective legislation as may be necessary. In view of the alarmingly rapid rate at which the best of American wildlife is being swept away, it has now become a duty of good citizenship to take an active part in conserving these most desirable natural resources.”

The Committee on Conservation of Forests and Wildlife was born, precipitating immediate and influential action of Camp-Fire members which would change the course of conservation in the United States.

Since its founding in 1977, the activities of the CAMP FIRE CONSERVATION FUND have coincided with the aims of the Club’s Conservation Committee; whether the former has provided funding for a project that has come to its attention from an outside source, or based on a recommendation submitted by the latter. Although a separate entity in its own right, in effect, the Camp Fire Conservation Fund is the financial arm of the Camp-Fire Club of America’s conservation activities.