Symbolism is usually associated with religion or primitive cultures, and its pervasiveness is easily overlooked by natural resource professionals. This paper argues that natural resource issues such as herbicide use, wild horse management, or forest die‐back (Waldsterben) are rich in symbolic meaning that must be understood by competent professionals. Theories of symbolism, developed in other fields, are applied to natural resources management in the Western world. Examples are presented illustrating the magnitude, variety, and changing meaning of important natural resource symbols. These examples focus on forest management, foresters, and the USDA‐Forest Service.