"A Dynamic, Not a Static Conception": The Conservation Thought of Roderick Haig-Brown

As the foremost conservationist in British Columbia from the late 1940s to the late 1960s, the internationally known fishing writer, magistrate, and naturalist Roderick Haig-Brown (1908-1976) fought conservation battles and promoted ecological ideas during a period of aggressive industrial expansion into the province'sresource frontier. This article explores Haig-Brown's conservation ideas and argues that they defy the often sharp categorization by historians of the philosophies underlying conservation and environmentalism. It identifies and discusses three phases in his conservation thought: the modern sportsman ethic, critical resourcism, and ethical conservation. Although he was born and raised in England, Haig-Brown developed his philosophy in the particular social, cultural, political, and environmental context of the mid-century Pacific Northwest. Subsequent readings of Haig-Brown as simply a romantic conservative ignore the dynamic quality of his ideas as they changed during his career. Like the American ecologist Aldo Leopold, Haig-Brown transcends the earlier, utilitarian conservation ideas and the ethical, nonmaterial values associated with environmentalism. This examination of his ideas suggests that the analysis of these movements as ideologically distinct or linearly developed obscures the importance of local variants and historical context.