Paul W. Johnson (1941-2021) was a state legislator, state and national agency leader and champion of private lands conservation. He is also remembered as a co-creator of the Leopold Center for Sustainable Agriculture at Iowa State University. A new book that brings together his writings, We Can Do Better. Collected Writings on Land, Conservation, and Public Policy will be the focus of an event led by the book’s editor, Curt Meine on Thursday, Oct. 30, at 6:00 pm at the Ames Public Library.
Lisa Schulte Moore, Charles F. Curtiss Distinguished Professor in Agricultural and Life Sciences and co-director of the Bioeconomy Institute at Iowa State describes the book as, “the textbook for what the conservation movement—and indeed our democracy—desperately needs right now.”
In his writings Johnson described his hopes and actions to build an American landscape that would produce not only food, but “clean water and air, biological diversity, wildness, and beauty.” Agriculture, he held, “involves more than food and fiber and fuel. It’s the care of all life.” In his public and private life, he pursued that vision through pragmatic steps to bring farming and conservation together. Throughout his career, Johnson wrote regularly about his experiences in the public arena.
Conservation biologist and writer Curt Meine, a colleague and friend of Johnson’s, has collected these writings and added a biographical introduction in the book published by Ice Cube Press. Through Johnson’s words, readers will follow a trail that stretches from the farm crisis of the 1980s to today’s array of conservation needs, challenges and opportunities.
Meine is senior fellow with the Aldo Leopold Foundation and the Center for Humans and Nature, research associate with the International Crane Foundation and associate adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He is also author of the biography Aldo Leopold: His Life and Work and The Driftless Reader.
This free event is sponsored by the Johnson Center for Land Stewardship Policy, the Iowa Center for the Book and the Aldo Leopold Foundation, with support from the Ames Public Library and Dog-Eared Books.
Other upcoming Iowa events with Meine discussing We Can Do Better, include:
- Decorah, Oct. 7, 6:30 p.m., at the Landing Market
- Des Moines, Oct. 29, 4:00 p.m., at The Harkin Institute