John Burroughs (1837 ù 1921) was an American naturalist important to the Conservation movement. He like Thoreau wrote essays on nature. Burroughs was the ôGrand Old Man of Natureö when the American romance with nature, and the American conservation movement, had come fully into their own. He grew up on a farm in New York and at age 17 became a teacher. Burroughs wrote over 30 books and published hundreds of essays.