conservationist

American  

[kon-ser-vey-shuh-nist] / ˌkɒn sərˈveɪ ʃə nɪst /

noun

• conservationists
  plural

1. a person who advocates or promotes conservation, especially of natural resources.

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conservationist British  

/ ˌkɒnsəˈveɪʃənɪst /

noun

1. a person who advocates or strongly promotes preservation and careful management of natural resources and of the environment

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• anticonservationist
  noun
• proconservationist
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• conservationists
  plural

Etymology

Origin of conservationist

First recorded in 1865–70; conservation + -ist

Compare meaning

How does conservationist compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• conservationist vs. environmentalist

Explanation

A conservationist is someone who protects animals, plants, or their habitats. Some conservationists clean seabirds after oil spills in the ocean, while others are teachers who educate students about environmental issues. If you care about preserving wildlife and the environment, you might want to be a conservationist. As a job, this can mean working as a wildlife biologist, an environmental political lobbyist, a forestry technician, or a park ranger — all professions that involve the care and protection of land, waters, and animals. You're also a conservationist if you volunteer at a local wildlife rehabilitation center or regularly call your state representatives to encourage their votes on environmental legislation.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

conservationist conservationists

A conservationist who purchased land and established a family estate and working farm called Ashbourne Farms, she died in 2011 at the age of 100.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Among the deceased were Roger Duarte, a 42-year-old Miami restaurateur and seafood businessman, as well as pilot Josh Outram, a fourth-generation Kenyan and wildlife conservationist.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026

Weeks passed before a partner organisation in Lebanon contacted the Serbian conservationist and said Feliks' unnamed captors had demanded a ransom.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

For conservationist Issah Seidu, 36, every landing is a reminder that time is running out to save the endangered species.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

In 1947 the conservationist Aldo Leopold dedicated a monument to the pigeon near the site of its greatest recorded nesting, at which hunters slaughtered 1.5 million birds.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

That could allow conservationists and law enforcement agencies to work backward from illegally traded material to the populations being targeted.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 26, 2026

But the certificate has raised alarm among conservationists, with the Confederation of Namibian Fishing Associations reportedly threatening to challenge its validity.

From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026

The discovery could help farmers, landowners, conservationists and gardeners make better decisions about how to support healthy pollinator populations.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

Wainwright said Wallington was a different environment to Strensell, which conservationists had previously based their idea of a "good habitat" for the moths, opening up new possibilities.

From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026

With reintroductions, often the situation for a species is so dire—and the threat of extinction so imminent—that it’s necessary for conservationists to jump in and try something before it’s too late.

From "Camp Panda" by Catherine Thimmesh

Related Words

• environmentalist