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Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame

lncreas~ A. Lapham Inducted 1992

WISCONSIN CONSEJN\TIO\! I !. LL OF FAME

"There is a feeling in the heart of many that it is not right to live exclusively for ourselves or for the present time - that it is right to look a little to the interests of those who shall come after us. "

Founder of conservation movement in Wisconsin

Recorded original biotic diversity of state's environment

Published Antiquities of Wisconsin, a book of effigy mound drawings

Warned of forest devasta­tion and encouraged tree replanting

- Lapham

Increase A. Lapham 1811-1875

Increase A. Lapham came to Wisconsin at a

time of resource abundance. His gift was the foresight to

record the state's natural history and to encourage its

preservation.

Born in New York, Lapham was a young sur­

veyor and civil engineer who worked on the Erie Canal.

He arrived in Milwaukee in 1836, three days before

Wisconsin became a U.S. Territory.

A naturalist at heart, Lapham had an insatiable

curiosity for the world around him. He was a prolific

note-taker, recording every bird, flower and odd-looking

stone he saw. He searched under logs and rocks for

shells and recorded water levels and weather conditions.

Father of National Weather Service

He had a sincere desire to preserve a record of

presettlement species in Wisconsin before they disap­

peared. He published information on trees, plants, shells

and rocks. Without his efforts, much of the state's pristine environment and original biotic

diversity would be left to conjecture.

He collected more than 1,500 species of plants, which he donated to the University of

Wisconsin-Madison as an herbarium in 1949 - even before it had a botany department.

Lapham made the earliest significant contributions to understanding the state's geol-

(Continued on back page)

(Publication of this fact sheet is made possible with assistance from Krause Publications, Iola, Wisconsin)

About Wisconsin's Conservation Hall of Fame

Location: Schmeeckle Reserve Stevens Point, Wis.

Attractions: Displays, information on Wisconsin' s conservation history and leaders. Schmeeckle Reserve, owned by the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, provides hiking and wildlife viewing opportunities.

Purpose: To educate and inspire people with information about how resource conservation has shaped our environment and our lives.

Hours: M-F, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m. Sat: Noon - 4 p.m. Sun: Noon - 4 p.m.

Support: The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame is funded solely by contributions. Donations are tax deductible and may be sent to:

WCHF Foundation Inc. Schmeeckle Reserve UW-Stevens Point Stevens Point, WI 54481

715-346-4992

Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame Honoring our state's rich conservation history

Increase Lapham (continued)

Lapham made the earliest significant contributions to

understanding the state's geology, mineralogy, archeology

and meteorology. He took great interest in the thousands of

effigy mounds found near Wisconsin's rivers and lakes. He

precisely drew and described animal and geometric-shaped

emblems that were created from soil by Native Americans

during the Woodland Period. His acclaimed book of effigy

mounds, Antiquities of Wisconsin, was published in 1855

under the auspices of the Smithsonian Institution.

In 1855, he urged state legislators to authorize a

natural history survey "before any more of the native species

become extinct."

Lapham recognized the importance of forests to

soils, watersheds and climate and warned of the devastation

of state forests 50 years before it became a public issue. He

advocated for preserving and replanting forests, calling it a

duty of landowner~. Legislation creating a tax exemption for

farmers who planted tree shelterbelts was passed in 1868, a

year after he co-authored a paper on the effects of forest de­

struction.

When he became the Wisconsin state chief geologist

in 1873, he conducted a two-year survey of the geology of

the state. Many of his maps, statistics and other works are in

the State Historical Library and Milwaukee Public Library.

Lapham developed the first storm warning system

for the Great Lakes and is credited with fathering the Na­

tional Weather Service.

With modest persistence, Lapham was a bellwether

of ecological concerns unknown in his day. He truly was the

founder of the conservation movement in Wisconsin.