Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling   Political cartoonist,  conservationist, helped   block  the  sale of environmentally valuable land to developers on Sanibel Island one of his favorite bird watching places.

At  Darling's  urging,   President Harry Truman signed an Executive Order creating  the Sanibel National Wildlife Refuge in 1945.

The Refuge was renamed  the Ding Darling National Preserve in 1967 to honor the pioneer conservationist.

Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling

Born 1876 was a well  known man of his era. A nationally known edi-torial  cartoonist, he  was famous  for his witty commentary  on subjects that concerned the nation.  An affable,  dynamic,   talented  man, Darling began his cartooning  career in 1900  with the Sioux City Journal. After joining the Des Moines Register as a cartoonist in 1906,he began  signing his  cartoons with the nick-name  Ding   derived by  combining  the firstinitial of his  name with the  last three letters. In 1924, Ding won a Pulitzer Prize for a cartoon that  espoused  hard work. He won this prestigious award again in 1942.

Avid hunter and fisherman, Mr Darling became alarmed at loss of wildlife habitat and possible  extinction of  many  species. He considered himself an Iowan, but was an early pioneer for wildlife conservation everywhere and he worked this theme into his cartoons and influenced a nation. Sanibel Island was to become one of Darling's places to give attention to for preservation.

In July 1934,  President  Franklin  D. Roosevelt appointed Ding Darling as the Director of U.S. Biological Survey, forerunner  of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.As Director, Darling was often called the best friend a duck ever had. In 18 months as Director Darling initiated Federal Duck Stamp Program designed  the  first  duck  stamp  and  vastly increased the acreage  of the National Wildlife Refuge  System. He developed partnerships with state universities to train scientists in the new study of wildlife biology.                  

Darling wrote, "If I could put together all the virgin landscapes which I knew in my youth and show what has happened to them in one generation, it would be the best object lesson in conservation that could be printed."

Beyond Pulitzer Prizes, he numerous major awards, honorary doctorates, the Audubon Medal, the Roosevelt Medal and Hutchinson Award.Darling died in 1962.

Jay Norwood Ding Darling

       Ding Darling Wildlife Park

        Ding Darling Wildlife Park

Mallards Dropping In by Darling became first Federal Duck Stamp in 1934.

Canoes at Ding Darling Park