President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919) was an ardent advocate of outdoor life, and of all his policies that of conservation of the nation’s natural resources was of the most permanent significance. In his first message to Congress, he had declared that the forest and water problems were the most vital domestic problems facing the American people. During his administration he succeeded in setting aside almost 60 million hectares of timber land in the United States proper and some 34 million hectares of mineral lands in Alaska. More than this, he dramatized the conservation problem before the Nation by his speeches, his actions, and by the convening of the Conservation Conference, making the protection of natural resources a national issue. Following is an excerpt from his Seventh Annual Message to Congress on December 3, 1907.