Wild South is honored to name our most prestigious society and award series for President Theodore Roosevelt and Mr. W.W. Ashe. Their conservation values mirror our own and we pay homage to their landmark work to protect forests in the Southeast and across the United States.

Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was a historian, naturalist, explorer, author, soldier, Governor and the 26th President of the United States. Roosevelt, a Republican, was a progressive reformer. During his tenure as President he carried out the largest government-funded conservation projects in U.S. history. He promoted the conservation movement and preserved millions of acres of land for the public good by creating what would become our national park and national forest systems.

William Willard Ashe (1872-1932), the first forester employed by the state of North Carolina, was a major architect of the acquisition of eastern national forests. In contrast to other foresters of his time, he understood the importance of biological diversity. Ashe was a person of notable integrity in the conservation of forest lands in eastern North America, particularly in the Southeast. Click here for historian Rob Messick’s full article.