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upworthy

enviroment

Teddy Roosevelt once said, "It is not what we have that will make us a great nation; it is the way in which we use it."

Roosevelt was an avid sportsman, outdoorsman, and hunter. He was an explorer and roughrider. While he really loved shooting things, he also saw the very real potential humans had to exhaust nature's resources.

When he became president in 1901, he wanted to use his power to protect the wild places he loved. And oh boy, he did. He quickly established his legacy as one of our nation's great conservationists, and while in office, he used his powers to create or add to six national parks and 18 national monuments.

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