That the situation is hopeless should not prevent us from doing our best. - Aldo Leopold

Patriotism requires less and less of making the eagle scream, but more and more of making him think.

The oldest task in human history: to live on a piece of land without spoiling it.

I personally believed, at least in 1914 when predator control began, that there could not be too much horned game, and that the extirpation of predators was a reasonable price to pay for better big game hunting. Some of us have learned since the tragic error of such a view, and acknowledged our mistake. One must judge from the present volume that the Fish and Wildlife Service does not see any mistake.