Appendix I: Significant Dates in American Environmental History 289
1908 Grand Canyon named a national monument.
Governors’ Conference on Conservation convened by Theodore Roosevelt.
National Conservation Commission appointed to inventory the nation’s natural
resources.
1909 North American Conservation Conference convened by Theodore Roosevelt.
First national Conference on City Planning and Congestion.
National Conservation Association formed as private organization, replacing
National Conservation Commission.
Boundary Waters Treaty between the United States and Canada addresses diver-
sion of water from Lake Erie.
1909-1910 Controversy between Richard Ballinger and Gifford Pinchot disrupts federal con-
servation activities.
1910 Insecticide Act prohibits interstate transport of mislabeled and adulterated insec-
ticides.
Bureau of Mines established within the Department of the Interior.
1911 Weeks Act creates numerous national forests in the East.
American Game Protective and Propagation Association established.
1913 Weeks-McClean Migratory Bird Act puts migratory birds under federal protec-
tion; first U.S. law to regulate hunting of migratory birds; replaced by 1918 Migra-
tory Bird Treaty Act.
Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite National Park given to San Francisco for build-
ing a reservoir, ending John Muirled campaign to preserve the valley.
1914 Drinking Water Standards Act.
Last passenger pigeon dies.
1915 Ecological Society of America founded.
1916 National Parks Service Act establishes National Parks Service to manage national
parks.
Migratory Bird Treaty between the United States and Great Britain (for Canada).
1918 Federal Migratory Bird Treaty Act implements 1916 U.S.-Canada treaty restricting
the hunting of migratory birds.
Last Carolina parakeet dies.
Save-the-Redwoods League established.
1919 National Parks and Conservation Association established.
1920 Federal Power Commission established and Federal Water Power Act authorizes
the Commission to issue licenses for developing hydropower on federal lands.