Conservation Conscious
If you are an conservation conscious outdoor enthusiast like me, then you probably already know how much we owe to President Theodore Roosevelt. If not, hopefully this enlightens you a bit. During Teddy’s campaign for the 1904 presidential election, he traveled for nine weeks stopping in over 150 towns and giving over 200 speeches. One of his stops was in Yellowstone National Park, according to Chris Epting.
Also during this time, Teddy teamed up with naturalist and writer, John Muir, after reading Muir’s book. For days Muir and Roosevelt hiked together on trails and through the snow throughout the Sequoias. During this time, Muir explained why preserving the natural environment was so important. Armed with what he learned on this outdoor adventure, Roosevelt began his fight. He urged Congress to pass laws that would eventually help to form the National Park Service, according to Epting.
Once he was voted president, Roosevelt signed legislation to create five national parks, 18 national monuments, 150 national forests, 51 federal bird sanctuaries, and four national game refuges. Then in 1916, seven years after leaving office, the National Park Service was created. Roosevelt wrote, “Our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their children’s children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred.”
Muir wrote about the outdoors: “A place of rest, a refuge from the roar and dust and weary, nervous, wasting work of the lowlands, in which one gains the advantages of both solitude and society.”
Melissa
OptimumCondition.com
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