Lifelong conservationist Larry Schweiger soon to retire as head of National Wildlife Federation
The soon-to-retire president and chief executive officer of the National Wildlife Federation credits Butler County residents with teaching him some of his earliest conservation lessons.
Larry Schweiger, 65, who spent his teen years on a farm near Harmony, will step down May 2.
Schweiger has been with the federation, with its 48 affiliates and more than four million members and supporters, since March 2004.
Before that he served for eight years as president and CEO of the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, where he pioneered watershed restoration and promoted ecological research, land conservation and community outreach.
Cynthia Carrow, vice president of government and community affairs at the conservancy, called Schweiger a “visionary leader.”
“In less than a decade, Schweiger led a number of organizational expansions, conservation initiatives, outreach programs and other efforts,” Carrow said.
Protecting the environment became Schweiger's mission early in life, he said.
“When I was a boy, from time to time I'd go to Lake Erie, and I'd see the tremendous algae blooms that destroyed the blue pike. I made a vow to protect the environment,” Schweiger said.
He got early conservation training in East Butler.
“Ralph Abele, who became head of the Pa. Fish Commission, was one of my scout leaders,” he said.
“In 1964 I was an assistant in the Butler County Conservation School organized by Lenny Green who went on to chair the board of the National Wildlife Federation,” he said. “A lot of young people in Butler County in those days attended that camp and did a lot of conservation work.”
“Thirty to 35 would spend a week. It was at the Butler City Hunting and Fishing Club in East Butler,” he said.
After graduating from North Allegheny High School, he attended Penn State University before leaving to become executive secretary of the Joint House/Senate Conservation Committee for the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
He also served as senior vice president for conservation programs at the National Wildlife Federation and first vice president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.Speaking of his tenure as CEO of the federation, Schweiger said he was most proud of new automobile manufacturing rules.“I don't want to take any singular credit for anything, but the new auto rules in place, agreed to by the makers and autoworkers, will cut fuel usage by 50 percent by 2025,” he said.“We are seeing benefits today as energy usage is going down. We're using less oil because of more efficiencies in the automobile,” he said.“The workers and the makers support this standard, and it's a good standard,” he said. “It's been said the best place to drill for oil is under the hoods of our cars.”Energy efficiency is important to Schweiger because of his efforts to raise awareness of the effects of climate change.Schweiger's 2009 book on global warming and wildlife, “Last Chance: Preserving Life on Earth” won praise from actor Robert Redford who said, “For more than four decades, Larry Schweiger has seen the transformation — for better and for worse — of America's wildlife and wild places. He brings an informed and inspired perspective to the issue at hand. His view of our 'Last Chance' is also our best chance toward a future we will be proud to leave to future generations.”Schweiger said, “Studies show that if we continue to do what we are doing, acidifying the oceans and altering ecosystems all over the word, 40 to 60 percent of species are going to be extinct, unless we change our practices.”And that's not considering the damage climate change can do to humans, he added, in the form of more storms, sea level changes, crop damage and water issues.Asked about climate change deniers, Schweiger said, “If you want to look back in the late 1800s, Samuel Langley and John Brashear used infrared analysis to determine energy striking the Earth and cloud impacts on energy absorption.”“It's settled science. It was settled in Western Pennsylvania in the late 1880s,” said Schweiger.“But it impacts moneyed interests, and they keep denial alive by somehow saying it's still open to debate,” he said.
Schweiger said he's going to remain active even after he retires full-time to the Wexford home he shares with his wife, Clara. The Schweigers have three daughters, two sons-in-law and five grandchildren.“I'm going to be active in conservation work,” he said. “I'm going to focus in Pennsylvania on getting better oversight on fracking and energy development, make sure we do a better job in protecting nature as we extract these resources.”“If you look at Marcellus Shale itself, it is 300 million years old,” he said. “The shale has enormous amounts of uranium in it. Fracking produces water with radioactive material in it. We need to fix that.”“We can't stop fracking,” said Schweiger. “But cooler minds are needed to protect adjacent landowners and water supplies.”“I'm going to continue to work on climate change. I'm on the board of Climate Reality with Al Gore. I'm going to be doing a lot of public speaking on that topic. I'm going to be speaking on that in Mexico City on Earth Day (April 22),” he said.And after spending 10 years working out of the federation offices in Washington, D.C., Schweiger said it would be good to visit old haunts in Butler County again.“I'm a hunter and an angler and a wildlife photographer. I'm more of a bird hunter than a deer hunter, but I may get back to deer hunting when I get back to Western Pennsylvania,” said Schweiger.“I want to get back into some of things I did when I was a younger person,” he said.“Butler County has some interesting areas for wildlife. The game lands in northern Butler County, for instance. And Moraine State Park is near and dear to me. It is a great place to spend time,” he said.
