This is a review of Force of Nature – George Fell, Founder of the Natural Areas Movement by Arthur Melville Pearson
George Fell was born in 1916 in Elgin, Illinois, not far from where I grew up and now live. He spent his coming of age years in my hometown of Rockford, Illinois and spent a great deal of time outdoors. (Back when Rockford was still relatively wild!) His love of plants grew from his own father, psychiatrist Dr. Egbert Fell, who spent a great deal of time collecting and cultivating plants.
While not the best of students, George was completely dedicated to causes he cared about, the most being protecting natural areas.
Fell moved to Washington D.C. and co-founded The Nature Conservancy, an organization that has become a worldwide juggernaut at conserving and protecting land. From its modest beginnings (a few hundred dollars in the bank), the accelerated growth of The Nature Conservancy could not have been possible without George’s efforts.
However, his tenure did not last. Only a few years after startup, George was ousted by the board for his differing opinions on how the organization should operate. Interestingly enough, you will find no mention of Fell on The Nature Conservancy’s website, one of the reasons Fell is not as well known as he should be.
As someone with no political clout, limited contacts and low experience in scientific fields, Fell was a dynamo at pushing to get things done. He partnered and pushed his ideas through, hardly flinching when faced with dissenting opinions. His obsession with natural areas (versus creating more “recreation areas”) coupled with his directness rubbed some powerful players the wrong way. But without Fell being a “force of nature” many preserved areas would have been lost.
After being ousted from The Nature Conservancy, Fell returned to Rockford, and along with his wife Barbara, set out to continue his long-term conservation goals. He founded the Natural Land Institute in 1958 as a way to purchase and protect lands. This organization is still operating and has many wonderful public and private lands under its care.
While setting up NLI, Fell was also working with the Illinois government to create the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act. The Act was designed to provide a way for the state to preserve and protect land outside of adding more state park recreational areas. The goal was to conserve the remaining, best landscapes no matter how big or more often, small.
After several years and alterations, the Act passed and has helped preserve areas throughout Illinois not as the typical recreational state parks.
Along with the Natural Land Institute, Fell also co-founded the Natural Areas Association, another conservation organization still going strong. This group of like-minded individuals wanted to nationalize the programs and processes Fell started in Illinois to protect more land. Many states took up the challenge, using Fell’s template to start their own programs.
In 1987 the Natural Areas Association began the George B. Fell Awards to honor those outstanding people committed to conservation. Within the boundaries of Castle Rock State Park, part of the Illinois State Park System, is the George Fell Nature Preserve. This was one of the first areas Fell pushed to be protected, which eventually grew into the state park.
The Natural Land Institute has over a dozen properties under their care, including Carl & Myrna Nygren Wetland Preserve, a prime birding spot open to the public. This is the place I once saw migrating Whooping Cranes. Several of these properties are not open to the public, but members can get permission to visit.
Fell’s legacy is wide yet often overlooked and under-appreciated. Force of Nature is an apt title to encapsulate the dedicated, non-stop hard work of George B. Fell. The biography goes into great detail of how this single-minded approach to conservation came at the right time to spearhead a movement that continues to this day.
Sadly, even with all the land directly and indirectly protected because of Fell, it is a small fraction of what once was. Even land set aside as parks and preserves face dangers, large and small. The movement may have grown, but we need a large majority of citizens to want and fight for the protection of natural areas.
“We are living at the time of man’s final conquest over the wilderness. What we have saved, and what we may save in the next few years, will be all the true wild nature that will remain to pass on from generation to generation in the years ahead. There will never be another chance.” – George B. Fell
