John Clark Salyer II

Who was John Clark Salyer II?

John Clark Salyer, II was born in Higginsville, Missouri on August 16, 1902. After earning a B.A. at Central College in Fayette, Missouri, in 1927, he attended the University of Michigan where he received his MS in 1930. He taught science in the public schools of Parsons, Kansas, and as a Professor of Biology at Bethel College, Newton, Kansas, for several years, before accepting a position with the Iowa Fish and Game Commission in 1933.

Soon after being appointed as the Chief of the Bureau of Biological Survey, Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling began searching for an individual to manage the bureau's fledgling refuge program. Having been acquainted with Salyer's work for a number of years, Darling recruited Salyer in June 1934 to oversee the management of national wildlife refuges. At first, Salyer was reluctant to leave the University of Michigan for a permanent job with the Bureau of Biological Survey in Washington, D.C. According to George Laycock in his book The Sign of the Flying Goose, Darling convinced Salyer to take a year's leave of absence from his position to assess waterfowl projects across the country. Salyer was directed by Darling to develop a waterfowl management program using the conservation principles of wildlife management espoused by Aldo Leopold. Such a program, based on habitat needs of migratory bird species, had never before been attempted on a national scale. Salyer later accepted a permanent position with the Bureau on December 17, 1934.