His contributions to the National Park System
His contributions were well cataloged in Ken Burns National Parks documentary. Should be watched by all.
Great series, and the book, with text by noted western author Dayton Duncan, is aces as well!
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6519311-the-national-parks
In this evocative and lavishly illustrated narrative, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan delve into the history of the park idea, from the first sighting by white men in 1851 of the valley that would become Yosemite and the creation of the world’s first national park at Yellowstone in 1872, through the most recent additions to a system that now encompasses nearly four hundred sites and 84 million acres.
The authors recount the adventures, mythmaking, and intense political battles behind the evolution of the park system, and the enduring ideals that fostered its growth.
It’s amazing how the purpose changed over the years. How many took decades to be made. We just take it for granted now that they always existed. But the US invented the idea.
An astounding part of a history that is now, for all practical purposes, invisible to the poorly educated and wholly self-absorbed Moo-lennials.
Just as they tear down our statues and remembrances, so also do they ignore our very birthrights as citizens of this incredible nation.
It pains me greatly.