In an era where environmental concerns are one of the major issues in citizens’ minds, one University of Wisconsin professor will help coordinate a national group dedicated to studying humans’ past and future relationships with the environment.

Gregg Mitman, who currently serves as a UW history of science and interim director of the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies, was recently chosen as the newest president for the American Society for Environmental History.

As the body’s sitting president, Mitman will lead the interdisciplinary professional society of around 1500 members. The society also hosts an annual professional conference where members showcase their current research initiatives in the field.

Mitman said he believes the field of environmental history, the study of evolving interactions between humans and the environment over time, is a crucial area for understanding how to predict future interactions.

“Understanding the past helps inform current and future relationships to the environment,” he said.

Mitman added the influence of cultural attitudes, scientific knowledge, economic and political interests in shaping past interactions with the environment is crucial to understand in order to move forward in an informed way.

In his own work as an environmental historian, Mitman said he is interested in how changing scientific knowledge, cultural values and political beliefs have shaped humans’ relationships with the natural world, both with wildlife and natural landscapes.

He said his research ranges from the history of “nature movies” and how they influenced American perceptions of the environment along with how humans approach their natural settings.

Mitman said the organization works to promote environmental history as a field of study both in the public sphere and within other professional entities.

An important part of the society is also maintaining the Journal of Environmental History, which is housed at UW, with help from a past president who still serves on the faculty, a statement from UW said.

Mitman said he thinks the selection speaks to the strength of the environmental humanities at UW.

The university bears a tradition of environmental stewardship and close study of the humans’ relationships with the environment, he added.

“There is something quite unique about UW-Madison that has a long legacy of environmental leadership and thought. People of varying scholarship are very attentive to changing relationships in people and the land around them,” he said.

The statement said Mitman will be the third UW professor to serve as the society’s president, joining the ranks with wildlife ecology professor Nancy Langston, who currently edits the society’s academic journal.

Bill Cronon, a professor of history, geography and environmental studies, has also previously served as the society’s president. Cronon is also the president-elect of the much larger American Historical Association.

Mitman said he will serve as president-elect until his two-year term begins in 2013. He added that meetings would draw members from around the country to Madison for meetings beginning in spring of 2012.