Donate Aldo Leopold Books — Free Albuquerque Pickup

I accept Aldo Leopold donations anywhere in the Albuquerque metro with free pickup — the whole collection: A Sand County Almanac in every edition, Game Management, Round River, the essay collection The River of the Mother of God, the Leopold biographies, and his collected writings. You don't sort or price anything. Bring it all, including the early hardcovers you might not recognize; the 1949 Oxford University Press first of A Sand County Almanac is collectible, so I check everything and the rest funds New Mexico literacy.

Published June 2026 · By Josh Eldred, New Mexico Literacy Project

Aldo Leopold's roots in conservation run straight through New Mexico: he began his career with the U.S. Forest Service here, was based in Albuquerque, and his advocacy created the Gila Wilderness in 1924 — the first designated wilderness area in the world. A Sand County Almanac went on to become the founding text of the modern land ethic. So a Leopold collection is both a local legacy and a genuinely collectible one, and when one gets cleared, most people just want it to land somewhere that honors it. That's exactly what I'm for: I take the whole thing, free, and I check every book.

What I take: all of it

You don't have to know what's valuable

Here's the reason to call rather than dump: the 1949 first edition of A Sand County Almanac (Oxford University Press) is genuinely collectible. The points to look for are teal cloth boards, the original $3.50 price on the dust jacket, and no mention of "Round River" on the back flap — a fine jacketed first runs into the hundreds, and inscribed or association copies far more. The millions of later paperbacks and the enlarged reprints, by contrast, are common, and a non-collector can't easily tell the 1949 first from a later printing. That's exactly the distinction I check. Bring the whole shelf and I'll recognize the Oxford first, protect it, and keep the reading copies in circulation, with any value put to good use in the state where his land ethic was born.

Why donate instead of selling it yourself

For a confirmed 1949 Oxford first, selling on your own (after a careful points check) can pay. For the reprints and paperbacks, listing each is more work than it's worth — and they belong in a new reader's hands anyway. Donating handles it in one call: no research, no pricing, no listings, no shipping, free pickup at your door, reading copies to new readers, and a genuine first recognized and supporting New Mexico literacy. Here's where donated books go.

How free pickup works

Call or text 702-496-4214 (or schedule online), tell me roughly how much there is and where you are, and we set a time. I come to you and load it all. I cover Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Corrales, the East Mountains, and the surrounding metro, and I handle whole-house and estate cleanouts regularly.

Frequently asked questions

Where can I donate Aldo Leopold books in Albuquerque?

Right here — free pickup anywhere in the metro for the whole collection: A Sand County Almanac, Game Management, Round River, the essays and biographies. Call or text 702-496-4214.

Is an old A Sand County Almanac worth anything?

The 1949 Oxford first (teal cloth, $3.50 jacket, no "Round River" on the back flap) is collectible — hundreds for a fine jacketed copy, far more inscribed; later printings are common. Bring it all and let me check.

Paperbacks too?

Yes — the common paperbacks and reprints go right back into circulation. Just don't throw any of it out first.