Gaylord Nelson
Inspiring Environmental and Political Leadership for the Global Good
Formative Years Visionary Leader Earth Day Leader
Recipient of Numerous Awards Nelson's Life Continues to Inspire
“The greatest gift my father ever gave me
was the belief that you could care about something
and work with integrity
to make a lasting difference.”
So reflected Tia Nelson about her “Papa”, Gaylord Nelson, Wisconsin’s Governor and Senator.
As a beloved and well-respected political leader and as the founder of Earth Day, Nelson did indeed make a lasting difference. As a model for those in elected office and as a visionary for a sustainable environment, his life was and remains inspirational -- especially in a global world of political polarization and environmental crisis.
Where was Nelson's lifelong love of the environment nurtured? "'By osmosis' he would say, while growing up in Clear Lake, Wisconsin," writes his biographer, Bill Christofferson in The Man from Clear Lake: Senator Gaylord Nelson. Young Gaylord spent hours in the woods, lakes, and farmland surrounding this community of about 700 people in northwest Wisconsin.
Gaylord Anton Nelson was born the third of four children on June 4, 1916. His father, a country doctor, was mayor of Clear Lake, and his mother was involved in community service. With parents so involved in civic activities, Gaylord became engaged in lively discussions about local, state, and national politics.
Nelson remembers wanting to be in politics since he was 8 or 9 when his dad took him to hear Robert LaFollette, Jr. He was so impressed by LaFollette that, when his dad asked him if he wanted to be in politics, Gaylord replied: "Yes, but I'm afraid by the time I grew up Bob LaFollete would have settled all the problems, and there will be nothing for me to do."
Young Nelson graduated from San Jose State College (California) in 1939 and received a law degree from the University of Wisconsin in 1942. Nelson served in the U.S. Army during World War II for almost four years. After the war, he practiced law in Madison. Nelson and his wife Carrie Lee, who married in 1947 and had three children, are featured in Tom Brokaw's bestseller, The Greatest Generation. Daughter Tia, has followed in her father’s footsteps; she is currently serving as executive secretary of the Wisconsin Board of Commissioners of Public Lands.
As a distinguished and influential public servant, Nelson served ten years (1949-1958) in the Wisconsin Senate, two terms as Governor of Wisconsin (1959-1962), and 18 years in the U.S. Senate (1963-1980). His accomplishments are numerous. As Governor, he created the Outdoor Recreation Acquisition Program. As Senator, his many achievements included legislation to:
- Preserve the 2,160-mile Appalachian Trail
- Create a national hiking trails system
- Mandate fuel efficiency standards in automobiles
- Control strip mining
- Create the St. Croix Wild and Scenic Riverway and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
- Ban the use of DDT and of 245T (agent orange)
Nelson was also was a trailblazer in consumer protection, especially involving prescription medicines. He opposed the Vietnam War, believing that “it would be a tragic mistake to get involved in land war in that part of Asia”; he was one of only three Senators who voted against the $700 million appropriations bill for that war.
According to Senator Nelson, the idea of Earth Day “evolved over a period of seven years starting in 1962.” He had been troubled for years about the state of the environment and that it was a non-issue for most people, including elected officials. He persuaded President Kennedy to go on a national conservation tour; however, it failed to raise the needed awareness and commitment.
In 1969, inspired by the Vietnam War teach-ins across the country, Nelson initiated a powerful and crucial movement: Earth Day. In retelling how it started, Nelson recalled that he announced, at a conference in September 1969, that there would be a nationwide grassroots demonstration on behalf of the environment in the spring of 1970, and he invited everyone to participate. 
As he described it, “The wire services carried the story from coast to coast. The response was electric. It took off like gangbusters.”
Earth Day was an immediate success, mobilizing more than 20 million participants in 1970. Nelson realized that “Earth Day worked because of the spontaneous response at the grassroots level. We had neither the time nor resources to organize 20 million demonstrators and the thousands of schools and local communities that participated. That was the remarkable thing about Earth Day. It organized itself.”
After leaving the Senate in January 1981, Nelson continued his efforts for environmental health as counselor of The Wilderness Society. He was involved with a wide range of land preservation issues, including elimination of logging subsidies, protection of national parks, and expansion of the National Wilderness Preservation System.
Nelson received numerous awards during his life, including:
- Ansel Adams Conservation Award in 1990 -- for exceptional dedication to conservation and for fostering a land ethic inspired by Aldo Leopold’s A Sand County Almanac
- Only One World Award in 1992 -- from the United Nations Environment Programme
- Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1995 -- President Clinton’s proclamation read in part, "As the father of Earth Day, he is the grandfather of all that grew out of that event: the Environmental Protection Act, the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act.”
Nelson's Life Continues to Inspire
Gaylord Nelson died on July 3, 2005, yet his legacy lives on.
Wilderness.net’s web site highlights Nelson’s impact: “Today, Earth Day is celebrated in 174 countries by over a half billion people, making it the most celebrated secular holiday in the world, a day on which people plant trees, clean up trash and lobby for the environment.”
At Nelson's memorial service, Representative Tom Petri (R-WI), who represented Gaylord's longtime friend Melvin Laird, reflected that “different people have different styles. But I particularly like Gaylord's style. He was, perhaps, the most liked person in the U.S. Senate while he was there -- the most liked on both sides of the political aisle. He was never down in the dumps, he was never a naysayer, he was never cross. We could all use a lot more of Gaylord Nelson’s civility in politics these days.
In her speech in the U.S. House of Representatives on July 13, 2005, Representative Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) spoke of Nelson as “an advocate for consumers, small business owners, farmers, and all who shared his belief in the promise of America. Above all, he was, as one report noted, ‘A voice crying out for the wilderness'.... Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin was a citizen of the world, a leader of the highest ethical standards, and a model public servant whose life's work will continue to inspire Americans for many generations.”