Birds are indicators of the environment. If they are in trouble, we know we'll soon be in trouble.

The Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History in Jamestown New York is named in his honor. J. He co-wrote Wild America with James FiRoger Tory Petersonr and edited or wrote many of the volumes in the Peterson Field Guide series on topics ranging from rocks and minerals to beetles to reptiles.

Roger Tory Peterson (August 28 1908 – July 28 1996) was an American naturalist ornithologist artist and educator and held to be one of the founding inspirations for the 20th century environmental movement.