Steve Dobrott, former Manager of Ted Turner’s Ladder Ranch & Past President of Hillsboro Historical Society, Hillsboro, NM
For those familiar with Aldo Leopold and his mighty contributions to Wildlife Management and Conservation, and for those who are not so acquainted, the Chautauqua performance by Steve Morgan interpreting Aldo is a must-see event. Morgan plays the part of Aldo down to the wire-rimmed spectacles, pipe, period field clothes, walking staff and field notebook. “Aldo” walks right out of the woods, presenting a totally believable demeanor of the man responsible for the first Wildernsess in the Nation. Morgan warmly draws you into Leopold’s persona and articulates his conservation philosophy in a manner that evokes his compassion for the natural world and the importance of preserving wild things and wild places. This performance is especially notable for its conservation message that Leopold championed in earnest.
Harley Shaw, Wildlife Biologist, Author & Managing Editor of Wild Felid Monitor
“In Wildness is the preservation of the world,” wrote Henry David Thoreau in his essay “Walking.” Aldo Leopold experienced the kind of wilderness that Thoreau never saw. He seconded Thoreau with his own famous quotation, “I am glad that I will never be young without wild country to be young in.” Thanks to these two worthies and their intellectual descendants, we still have wild country to be young in.
I can only imagine what it might have been like to take a stroll with the two of them in such country. Steve Morgan, in his reincarnation of Leopold, brings one as close as is humanly possible to such a walk with Aldo — a walk that inevitably changes the way one views our planet.
Jan Haley, Author, Photographer: Max Evan’s Hi Lo Country – Under the One-Eyed Sky and her book Free Flow – the Gila River in New Mexico.
I have seen two of Steve Morgan’s Aldo Leopold Chautauquas, and both times I had to remind myself that I was watching good friend rather than the real Aldo. Steve inhabits Leopold’s wise, soft-spoken persona brilliantly. Spreading the message of conservation and respect for our natural world is more important than ever, and I believe Aldo would be pleased with Steve’s performance and mission to keep his words and thoughts alive..