Teddy Roosevelt

John Muir

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Born in Scotland, Muir grew up in Wisconsin, not far from the Dells and the Ice Age Scenic Trail, a biodiverse landscape carved by glaciers, where he began his affinity and fascination with nature. Self taught due to lack of funds, he eventually studied botany, chemistry and geology at university. At 30 he began exploring the Sierra Nevadas, documenting his discoveries in journals along with formulating his views on nature. This became his life’s work, advocating for nature, against the forces of developers, loggers and ranchers, loggers and developers.

Yosemite, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks in California were little known remote places described by Muir, shared with his influential friends and ultimately protected by Teddy Roosevelt and later presidents. Ralph Waldo Emerson visited Muir in Yosemite, and I’m sure they talked about Henry David Thoreau and Walden Pond of my home town. Muir also enjoyed hiking Black Butte and Mt Shasta, another lovely area with waterfalls in northern California.

And Muir traveled further afield, corresponding and traveling with naturalist John Burroughs, a friend of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison. Burroughs, nicknamed “O’Birds” with Muir “O’Mountains”, toured both Alaska and the Grand Canyon with Muir. Muir helped Gifford Pinchot evaluate the forest and land around the Grand Canyon and then pressed Teddy Roosevelt to protect the park 10 years later. (Pinchot did not return the favor when Muir asked for help saving Hetch Hetchey). Muir climbed Mt Rainier and advocated for it to become another national park. While President Grant deserves credit for Yellowstone, Muir helped the public understand Yellowstone’s ecological importance, by writing about and visiting the park with Roosevelt. Petrified Forest is another site that owes Muir’s writings, along with many other sites inspired by Muir and protected by Roosevelt and others.

North of San Francisco, Muir’s home with his study above is now a historic site, and his work is commemorated in Muir Woods, a place he may not have known but would have loved deeply. Muir’s legacy includes the Sierra Club and the National Park Service, both founded in large part by Muir. Many of us share a kindred spirit with Muir and are humbled to have walked in his footsteps.

Death Valley Lows: Tragedy, Madness & Our National Parks

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On Valentine’s Day in 1884, both the wife and mother of a young Teddy Roosevelt died of illnesses, leaving him with a two day old daughter. The young Harvard graduate and successful author resigned from the NY Assembly, and he went out west to mourn in the wilderness. His experiences would bring him through battle with his rough riders in Cuba to the White House, where he repaid his debt to nature by protecting 230 million acres of public land. Presidents Lincoln and Grant—no strangers to suffering—had already protected Yosemite and Yellowstone respectively, and in 1903 President Roosevelt camped in each park with Muir and Burroughs respectively, expanding Yosemite and changing from hunter to wildlife observer in Yellowstone. As parks or monuments Teddy signed into law Crater Lake, Grand Canyon, Lassen Volcanic, Mesa Verde, Olympic, Petrified Forest, Pinnacles and Wind Cave, plus Chaco, Devils Tower, El Morro, Gila Cliff Dwellings, Jewel Cave, Montezuma Castle, Muir Woods, Natural Bridges, Tonto, and Tumacacori.

But my hero Teddy Roosevelt is not the man I write about today. The secret behind the first NPS Director, Stephen Mather, was hidden from view until 1987 when his faithful assistant and successor revealed near the end of his own life that Mather was suicidally bipolar. A contemporary and kindred spirit of Muir and Roosevelt, Mather climbed Mt Rainier in 1905, explored Kings Canyon and Sequoia and helped found Save the Redwoods. Upset over the inconsistent and weak protection in the parks he visited, Mather lobbied Washington and got a job as Assistant Secretary of the Interior. Using his own funds, he organized an expedition and invited the head of the Appropriations Committee and the press, including the National Geographic Society editor. Mather’s enthusiasm was both manic—jumping into waterfall pools—and inspiring. As a direct result, President Wilson created the National Park Service, and Mather became its first leader.

Despite his months-long ‘Death Valley lows’ Mather was responsible for many of the decisions that converted protected public lands into the National Park experiences that we enjoy today. He pushed back the loggers, miners and ranchers who were extracting private wealth from our public lands. He lobbied to create many park units, including Indiana Dunes (postponed due to the urgency of WWI). He had iconic lodges built, like Old Faithful Inn above, and he limited development in many spectacular parks to just one dramatically scenic road. These exuberant and thrilling experiences in nature were his ‘Going to the Sun highs’, and he devoted all his energy to perfecting them. Mather was a staunch environmental defender, a visionary parks evangelist, and a brilliant marketer who wanted to share the joy of these wonderful places with everyone.

Humans have long sought solace in nature, so preserving havens in national parks is essential for humanity. People like Stephen Mather, who suffered from debilitating bouts of deep depression, desperately need nature both to recover from sadness and to be inspired into joyful action. This human bond with natural beauty and affinity with wildlife is what drove Teddy Roosevelt to rebound from his tragedies and Stephen Mather to overcome his mental illness. And as President and NPS architect, both worked tirelessly to protect our public lands for future generations.

Mather is well remembered in many NPS sites, from Mather District in Yosemite, Mather Gorge at Great Falls, Mather Parkway at Rainier, Mather Point in Grand Canyon and Mount Mather in Denali. His friends created bronze Mather plaques that can be found at over 50 park units across the country. Despite our current crazy and dangerous warming of our atmosphere, the plaques thank Mather with the following quote.

“He laid the foundation of the National Park Service, defining and establishing the policies under which its areas shall be developed and conserved unimpaired for future generations. There will never come an end to the good that he has done.”

1929 House Speech by Michigan Congressman Louis Cramton