Remembering Luna B. Leopold: A hydrologic pioneer (1915-2006)
“Water is the most critical resource issue of our lifetime and our children's lifetime. The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land.”
–attributed to Luna B. Leopold, Former USGS Chief Hydrologist
Randy Hunt, one of our groundwater hydrologists, recently co-authored an article in the scientific journal Ground Water reflecting on the life and legacy of Luna B. Leopold, a visionary hydrologist and geomorphologist. Besides being the son of Wisconsin author/conservationist Aldo Leopold, Luna Leopold had a strong Wisconsin connection: in his teens, he worked on the first watershed-scale soil and water conservation project in Coon Valley, Wisconsin, where he began to see the connection between surface water, groundwater, and the landscape. This experience inspired him to pursue a civil engineering degree from UW-Madison. After spending his youth in Wisconsin, Leopold later became an integral part of the national USGS from 1950 to 1972, where he instituted a comprehensive restructuring of the USGS Water Programs that combined the three divisions of hydrologic research (groundwater, surface water, water quality) into a single, integrated research office. Hunt's article, co-authored by Curt Meine of the Aldo Leopold Foundation, focuses on Leopold's belief in the interconnectedness of all parts of the water-resources system and the importance of a holistic approach to resource management and stewardship.
Group photo of Luna Leopold (third from left), Randy Hunt (third from right), and staff, during Leopold's visit to the Wisconsin WSC in 2002.
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