Mollie Beattie

Mollie H. Beattie (April 27, 1947 Glen Cove, Long Island – June 27, 1996) was an American conservationist, and director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. In 2009, she was designated a Women's History Month Honoree by the National Women's History Project.[1]

Mollie H. Beattie
Born(1947-04-27)April 27, 1947
Glen Cove, Long Island
DiedJune 27, 1996(1996-06-27) (aged 49)
Townshend, Vermont
NationalityAmerican
Alma materMarymount College, Tarrytown;
University of Vermont;
Harvard University
OccupationConservationist
Known fordirector of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Spouse(s)Rick Schwolsky

Life

She was born on April 27, 1947, in Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from Marymount College, Tarrytown with bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1968, and from the University of Vermont with a master's degree in forestry in 1979, and from Harvard University with a master's degree in public administration in 1991.[2]

From 1985 to 1989, she was Vermont commissioner of forests, parks and recreation; from 1989 to 1990, she was deputy secretary for Vermont's Agency of Natural Resources.[3][4] From 1993 to 1996, she served as the first woman director of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service.[2][5] She oversaw the successful reintroduction of the gray wolf into northern Rocky Mountains.[6] During her tenure as director of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, she oversaw the addition of 15 new wildlife refuges, and established over 100 new habitat conservation plans. Mollie also fought fiercely in Washington D.C. to protect the wildlife refuges, to keep good science in the decision making, and against weakening the endangered Species Act.[7] She died on June 27, 1996, in Townshend, Vermont.[3]

Family

She was married to Rick Schwolsky.

Honors

To commemorate Mollie Beattie's life and work, the 8 million acre Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Wilderness was renamed the Mollie Beattie Wilderness by the U.S. Congress in 1996.[8] President William J. Clinton wrote, "Under this legislation, Mollie Beattie's name will be forever associated with one of the most wild and beautiful places on this planet, the Brooks Range of Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. It is entirely appropriate that we honor Mollie in this way. She was a passionate defender of our 508 National Wildlife Refuges, the largest system of lands in the world dedicated to wildlife conservation. She saw them as places that must be appreciated and honored, as places where we could begin to fulfill our sacred trust as stewards of God's creation. Mollie worked tirelessly, even as her health was failing, to keep these places wild for the benefit of Americans today and for those who will follow us."[9]

In the long term, the economy and the environment are the same thing. If it's unenvironmental it is uneconomical. That is the rule of nature.


-- Mollie Beattie [10]

Works
  • Mollie Beattie; Charles Thompson; Lynn Levine (1993). Working with Your Woodland: A Landowner's Guide. UPNE. ISBN 9780874516227.; 19 June 2012, ISBN 978-1-61168-069-0

See also

References
  1. "Honorees: 2010 National Women's History Month". Women's History Month. National Women's History Project. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 June 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  2. Dicke, William (June 29, 1996). "Mollie Beattie, 49; Headed Wildlife Service". The New York Times.
  3. "Mollie Beattie; Led Fish and Wildlife Service". Los Angeles Times. June 29, 1996.
  4. Fago, D'ann Calhoun (January 5, 1988). "Mollie Beattie brakes for trees. Vermont's first female forest commissioner talks about her work". Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  5. Greg Young, "Mollie Beattie (1947 – 1996) American Forester and Conservationist," Environmental Encyclopedia (Oct. 2005)
  6. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-10-06. Retrieved 2010-06-25.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  7. fws.gov
  8. Congressional Record June, 28, 1996
  9. Statement on Signing the Mollie Beattie Wilderness Area Act - The American Presidency Project
  10. "Mollie Beattie: Woman of the Woods"


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