The U.S. Bureau of Fisheries was an important institution for Progressive era conservation. At the same time that Gifford Pinchot sought to use scientific principles to rationalize forest resource use, so a conservation-oriented government sought to rationalize and improve fisheries. The ideas of eliminating waste, putting resources on planned schedules of harvest and renewal, and the use of resources for the public good proved compelling rationales during Teddy Roosevelt’s presidential administration. Finally, scientists working for the Bureau (more so than academic ecologists often emphasized in the histories we read) also provided a primary motivating force in conceptualizing and building the biological station at Fairport. The development of practical applications involved scientific questions that required scientific expertise.