Jay+Norwood+Darling

Original Author: Nancy Pham Revision Author:  Who is Jay Norwood Darling? Jay Norwood Darling was one of the most famous conservationists in the mid-west. On October 21, 1876, Jay Norwood Darling (1876 – 1962) was born to Reverend Marcellus and Clara Darling in Norwood, Michigan. He went to public schools of Indiana and Sioux City, Iowa ( Jonson  188). After receiving his collegiate degree from Beloit College in Wisconsin, he moved to Sioux City to save money in hopes to attending medical school. However, after accepting a position at // Sioux City Journal //, his political cartoonist career took off. ( Jay Darling). Around 1900, his political cartoons were appearing in the // Sioux City Journal //. He began sketching cartoons that related to his stories and signing them with the nickname “Ding”. In 1906, he was offered a cartoonist position at the // Des Moines Register //. For most of his life, his lived and worked in Des Moines, Iowa ( Jonson  188). Most of Mr. Darling’s career, he contributed to conservation through his political cartoons and participated with the government in conservation.  Mr. Darling started out in conservation through his political cartoons. He created cartoons related to politics, humor, conservation and life in general. He sketched an estimated 15,000 cartoons in between the years 1900 to 1949. Out of the 15,000, only an estimated of 100 were related to wildlife and conservation. His first conversation cartoon was in the // Sioux City Journal // to help support the National Forestry Service (Worthen 12). In 1906, after living and working in Des Moines, Iowa, his cartoons were relating more towards conservation. He started drawing conservation cartoons with images of hunting images. Some of his inspiration to add hunting images came from the celebration of the annual opening of hunting and fishing seasons (Worthen 12). For example, in 1910, he created a cartoon that “show a daydreaming fisherman enchanted by a siren in the guise of a fish holding a harp, and the man with visions of ducks and fish who won’t go to church” (Worthen 12). In 1916, he signed a contract with // Herald Tribune // and // Syndicate //, which featured his cartoons in 130 newspapers across the country.  In 1920, Mr. Darling started to have concerns regarding the overkill in ducks. At first, his vision was through the hunters’ eyes but after seeing the damage of the wetlands, he started to view conservation through the eyes of the animals. For example, “he cleverly related the post-war disarmament conference to hunting in a 1921 cartoon showing wounded ducks petitioning the arms conference with a sign saying “disarmament should begin at home” (Worthen 12). He felt like he needed to take a stand and use his work to show his support against the hunters. In 1923, he declared war on the hunters who were cheating on opening of the season through a cartoon sketch. In the 1930s, Mr. Darling started creating cartoons related to the problems of pollution (Worthen 13).  As Mr. Darling cartoons attracted attention from the government, he was able to contribute to conservation on a national level. Throughout Darling’s career, he became friends with several important and famous people in the United States. Darling became good friends with Herbert Hoover, which was the 31st President of the United States. During elections, Darling started to become good friends with Franklin D. Roosevelt, which was the 32nd President of the United States. Mr. Darling agreed with President Roosevelt that there were problems in the wetlands and wanted to make conservation improvements (Lendt 63). In 1934, President Roosevelt appointed Mr. Darling as the Chief of the U.S. Biological Survey. He was also appointed to join the President’s Committee for Wild Life Restoration along with Aldo Leopold and Thomas Beck. The Committee for Wild Life Restoration purpose was to create a new program that will find funds towards conservation problems instead of using the Bureau of Biological Survey (Jay Darling). The committee was receiving poor performance results to where Chairman Thomas Beck recommended to President Roosevelt that the Survey be canceled. Thomas Beck felt that the committee lacked scientific and knowledge of the problems with the migratory waterfowl management. The other chairmen Mr. Darling and Aldo Leopold made a statement to President Roosevelt saying:  “Both Leopold and I, knowing that underneath the surface officials of the Bureau there were many competent scientists who if given a chance could be of great service, refused to accept Beck’s liquidation recommendation. Tom Beck was at that time president of “More Game Birds” which later was incorporated under the present title of “Ducks Unlimited.” Generally speaking, Beck advocated the theory held by the “More Game Birds” crowd-that the way to restore ducks was to hatch them in incubators and turn them loose into the flight lanes, in other words restocking by artificial methods. Leopold and I held to the principle that nature could do the job better than man and advocated restoring the environment necessary to migratory waterfowl, both in the nesting areas, the flight lanes and the wintering grounds (qtd in Lendt 65).”   After that statement, Mr. Darling and Aldo Leopold were unable to agree with Thomas Beck. Beck’s committee was creating a report that they wanted President Roosevelt wanted to read. While Beck’s committee was doing that, Mr. Darling and Mr. Leopold were creating the Federal Stamp Act.  <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">One of Mr. Darling’s most famous accomplishments was assisting with the passage of the Migratory Bird Hunting Stamp act of 1934. “The act requires a person who hunts migratory birds or waterfowl to annually buy a federal Duck Stamp” (Jonson 190). What is a federal duck stamp? The federal duck stamps are pictorial stamp created by the U.S. Postal Service for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Several of Ding’s sketches of ducks in flight in a landscape were used in the creation of the Federal Duck Stamps (Federal Duck Stamp). In 1936, Mr. Darling created the first duck stamp (Worthen 13). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">“Ninety-eight cents out of every dollar generated by the sales of Federal Duck Stamps goes directly to the purchase or lease wetland habitat for protection in the National Wildlife Refuge System. Understandably, the Federal Duck Stamp Program has been called one of the most successful conservation programs ever initiated and is a highly effective way to conserve America’s natural resources” (Federal Duck Stamp). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Since 1934, the money generated from the sales of the Federal Duck Stamps has been over $750 million to help protect the wetlands. The act also benefits people with assisting with preserving the wetlands in order for people to enjoy bird watching, hiking and visits (Federal Duck Stamp). In November 9, 1936, he sketched a cartoon about the hunters who forgot to purchase their duck stamps in order to validate their hunting license called “Lest You Forget” (Worthen 13). <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> In Iowa, he was considered the “father of the nonpolitical form of fish and game administration” (Jonson 190,191). He helped create the “Twenty-five Year Conservation Plan” for Iowa. The goal of the Twenty-five Year Conservation Plan was to lay out a blueprint for the "orderly and scientific development of natural resources, recreational areas and park systems of the whole state (Iowa). Aldo Leopold was appointed the game advisor of the survey. Mr. Darling and Mr. Leopold along with the other committee realized that their goal wouldn’t be achieved without trained people. In 1931, they proposed a fish and game management training program at Iowa State College. For the first year, the program cost would be split three ways. Money would come from the “Iowa Fish and Game Commission would pay one-third from hunting and fishing fees, (2) the college would provide the same amount in service and materials, (3) “Ding” volunteered to pay the remainder from his own pocket” (Jonson 191).      <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">     <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> In conclusion, Jay Norwood Darling has been known for his cartoons and his accomplishments in conservation. Mr. Darling created most of his cartoons while living in Des Moines, Iowa. In 1924 and 1942, he was honored with two Pulitzer Prize for his cartoons that espoused hard work (J.N. “Ding” Darling 4). He also accomplished many conservation goals on a national level with President Roosevelt and Aldo Leopold. The Federal Duck Stamp helped generate over $750 million to help the wildlife. Overall, Mr. Darling wanted to help the conservation fight on a national level and for Iowa. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> **<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Work Cited ** <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"IOWA - Portrait of the Land - Calls for Conservation." //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Iowa Geological Survey Home //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Web. 13 May 2010. [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling." //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Fish and Wildlife Service //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Web. 12 May 2010. [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Jonson, Laurence F. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Federal Duck Stamp Story: Fifty Years of Excellence, 1934 - 50th Anniversary - 1984 //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Davenport, Iowa: Alexander &, 1984. Print. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Lendt, David L. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Ding: the Life of Jay Norwood Darling //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Ames: Iowa State UP, 1979. Print. <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">"The Federal Duck Stamp." //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Fish and Wildlife Service //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Web. 12 May 2010. [] <span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge //<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">. Sanibel: U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, 1998. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Worthen, Amy N. //Prints of J. N. Darling//. [S.l.]: [s.n.], 1991. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Return to Early Conservation <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Return to home
 * <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt;">Jay Norwood Darling **