The Conference of Governors was held in the White House May 13–15, 1908 under the sponsorship of President Theodore Roosevelt.
Gifford Pinchot, at that time Chief Forester of the U.S., was the primary mover of the conference, and a progressive conservationist, who strongly believed in the scientific and efficient management of natural resources on the federal level.
On November 13, 1907, the President issued invitations to the governors of the States and Territories to meet at the White House on those dates.
"[3] Among those speaking were leading industrialists, such as Andrew Carnegie and James J. Hill, politicians, and resource experts.
This Conference was a seminal event in the history of conservationism; it brought the issue to public attention in a highly visible way.