today shepherdstown is home to a division of the u.s. fish and wild life service, a bureau of the department of interior. that's where q&a campers went in late april to talk to historian douglas brinkley about his book on the influence of our 26th president on the history of the conservation movement. the book is titled, wilt chamberlain -- "the wilderness warrior: theodore roosevelt and the crusade for america." >> doug brinkley, why did you want to start our conversation about your book at this center. well, this is the national conservation training center. this is where biologists get trained and make sure that our rivers and that our marshlands are taken care of that manage endangered species, it's the headquarters of fish and wild life but conservationist leaders come all over the world for seminars and learn proper methods and techniques. here on the side like walking pasture, are pictures of caribou in alaska, roosevelt was very interested in all big game including caribou. and what interests me is writing a book like "the wilder

here in sheporder-- shepherdstown, west virginia. and this was done at the typical holiday inn, when we designed this place, we looked to make it such a place that people in the fish and wildlife could call home. and that the service could dedicate to the employees. we have dedicated people that work for the fish and wildlife service, and it's important that they build their skills to deal with the complex challenges that we face today and the future. >> mark madison, how much did this cost? >> this place cost about $150,000. >> who in congress was responsible for it? >> senator byrd made sure that we had the funding. but the clinton and bush administrations requested the funds for the project. >> how many buildings? >> we have 17 buildings. >> how many years? >> it took about three years. >> what can a book like doug wrote can do for you? >> it can do a lot, for the employees to realize their own heritage, and like any other artifact, these parks and resources are heritage. and explains to others what we do, to give talks that last

. >> we are in west virginia in shepherdstown. it's a beautiful campus. if the archive where i did research because they have the papers not just of early conservationists like roosevelt cars and in the 1960's work for u.s. fish and wildlife. for me this place is in our -- is an archival treasure trove. i went to various birthplaces that roosevelt went to. we have archives in michigan and one in arizona. i even went to puerto rico recently to go see the national forest there which he saved for the national forest service, which is our only rainforest in our entire protection system in united states. it's home to rare pottery and parrots. it is a spectacular part if you can go to puerto rico to see the rain forest. i would go to these places, meet the local superintendent or ranger oil martin and interview them and get local documentation as well. this is the nerve center for what i would consider roosevelt's wilderness america. >> we're standing in the roosevelt room in the center. behind us is a photograph, a big photograph above the fireplace. >> if tha

here in shepherdstown, west virginia. and until this place was build, the u.s. fish & wildlife service did its training mostly at your typical airport hilton or airport holiday inn. when we started to design this place, we looked to build it as a place that people in the fish & wildlife service could call home and a place that would represent the importance, that service puts into investing into its employees. we have really talented, really dedicated folks that work here at the fish & wildlife service, but it's really critical that they continue to build their skills so they can do a better job to deal with the really complex conservation challenges that we face today and that we'll face in the feature. >> mark madison, how much does this cost to pay for? >> steve would have to answer that. >> this place costs about $150 million for everything that we see here. >> who in congress was responsible for it? >> senator robert c. byrd made sure that we had the funding necessary to build the place. but both the first bush administration and the clinton administration