TheConference of Governors was held in theWhite House May 13–15, 1908 under the sponsorship of PresidentTheodore Roosevelt.Gifford Pinchot, at that time Chief Forester of the U.S., was the primary mover of the conference, and aprogressive conservationist, who strongly believed in the scientific andefficient management of natural resources on the federal level. He was also a prime mover of the previousInland Waterways Commission, which recommended such a meeting the previous October. On November 13, 1907, the President issued invitations to the governors of the States and Territories to meet at the White House on those dates.[1] This 1908 meeting was the beginning of the annual governors' conferences, now held by theNational Governors Association.[2]
The focus of the conference was on natural resources and their proper use. President Roosevelt delivered the opening address: "Conservation as a National Duty."[3] Among those speaking were leading industrialists, such asAndrew Carnegie andJames J. Hill, politicians, and resource experts. Their speeches emphasized both the nation's need to exploit renewable resources and the differing situations of the various states, requiring different plans. This Conference was a seminal event in the history of conservationism; it brought the issue to public attention in a highly visible way. The next year saw two outgrowths of the Conference: the National Conservation Commission, which Roosevelt and Pinchot set up with representatives from the states and Federal agencies, and the First National Conservation Congress, which Pinchot led as an assembly of private conservation interests.[4][5]
