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My guest is David Gessner. His newest book is Leave It As It Is: A Journey Through Theodore Roosevelt's American Wilderness. \u201cLeave it as it is,\u201d Theodore Roosevelt announced while viewing the Grand Canyon for the first time. \u201cThe ages have been at work on it and man can only mar it.\u201d Roosevelt\u2019s rallying cry signaled the beginning of an environmental fight that still wages today. To reconnect with the American wilderness and with the president who courageously protected it, acclaimed nature writer and New York Times bestselling author David Gessner embarks on a great American road trip guided by Roosevelt\u2019s crusading environmental legacy.

Gessner travels to the Dakota badlands where Roosevelt awakened as a naturalist; to Yellowstone, Yosemite and the Grand Canyon where Roosevelt escaped during the grind of his reelection tour; and finally, to Bears Ears, Utah, a monument proposed by Native Tribes that is embroiled in a national conservation fight. Along the way, Gessner questions and reimagines Roosevelt\u2019s vision for today.

As Gessner journeys through the grandeur of our public lands, he tells the story of Roosevelt\u2019s life as a pioneering conservationist, offering an arresting history, a powerful call to arms, and a profound meditation on our environmental future.

Special Guest: David Gessner .