John Muir
To this day the preservation of wild life can be attributed to the work of John Muir (1838-1914). He was a very influential American naturalist and conservationist. Muir was the founder of The Sierra Club and has been given the title of Father of National Parks. The Sierra Club posts a quote each day by Muir. Today's:
"Brought into right relationships with the wilderness, man would see that his appropriation of Earth's resources beyond his personal needs would only bring imbalance and begat ultimate loss and poverty by all."
Background
Muir was born in Scotland and came to Wisconsin in 1849 with his family. He studied botany and geology from the University of Wisconsin. After an accident that left him temporarily blind, he decided to leave the industrial sector. Muir traveled all over the nation by foot and boat, from East Coast to West Coast, from North to South, saturating himself in nature.
Contributions
Muir played a big role in several milestones of environmental protection:
- Championed protection of Petrified Forest and Grand Canyon
- Convinced Roosevelt to return Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove to federal protection
- Public Voice for General Grant and Sequoia National Parks
- Founded the Sierra Club
- And much more
The Sierra Club has an amazing compilation of John Muir contributions, biographies, tributes, writings, pictures, and more that can be found here.
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