Download or read book Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove written by Frederick Law Olmsted and published by Yosemite Conservancy. This book was released on 1995 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan visited Yosemite National Park, they both called out Fredrick Law Olmsted as a major influence and inspiration for their documentary film, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. To celebrate Mr. Olmsted and his contributions to our National Parks, the Yosemite Conservancy, in partnership with Heyday Books, has reprinted "Yosemite and the Mariposa Grove: A Preliminary Report, 1865" with a new foreword by Dayton Duncan and Ken Burns. This seminal book is a must read for anyone interested in the National Parks and our public lands. The first eloquent expression of the need for conservation in 1865 is found in this remarkable and prescient report by Frederick Law Olmsted. No statement since has been so cogent or powerful. Pristine natural landscapes, Olmsted observed, provide people with "refreshing rest and re-invigoration." They are good - perhaps essential - for the soul. Which is why, he noted, that from time immemorial they have most often become the exclusive domain of any society's most privileged classes, "a monopoly, in a very peculiar manner, of a very few, very rich people." Olmsted believed a great democracy had a greater obligation: "to provide means of protection for all its citizens in the pursuit of happiness." That meant, he argued, that "the establishment by government of great public grounds for the free enjoyment of the people . . . is thus justified and enforced as a political duty." Olmsted gave additional reasons for creating public parks, including that they are undeniably good for the local, state, and national economy because of the tourist business they engender. His report also included practical advice about building roads and shelters, as well as instituting regulations to zealously protect the "dignity of the scenery." All of his points are as pertinent today as they were when he first read them to his fellow Yosemite commissioners nearly 150 years ago. But in deliberately borrowing from our nation's founding document, which proclaims that the "pursuit of happiness" is among the inalienable rights of every human being, and in attaching that notion to why Yosemite (or any other future park) should not be allowed to become "a rich man's park," Olmsted infused the national park idea with its most enduring principle."
Download or read book America s National Park System written by Lary M. Dilsaver and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-02-18 with total page 507 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in a fully updated edition, this invaluable reference work is a fundamental resource for scholars, students, conservationists, and citizens interested in America's national park system. The extensive collection of documents illustrates the system's creation, development, and management. The documents include laws that established and shaped the system; policy statements on park management; Park Service self-evaluations; and outside studies by a range of scientists, conservation organizations, private groups, and businesses. A new appendix includes summaries of pivotal court cases that have further interpreted the Park Service mission.
Download or read book The Big Trees of California written by Galen Clark and published by . This book was released on 1907 with total page 110 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Yosemite written by John Muir and published by Binker North. This book was released on 1912 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the classic nature work, The Yosemite, the great American naturalist, John Muir, describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the myriad types of trees, flowers, birds, and other animals that can be found there. The Yosemite is among the finest examples of John Muir nature writings.The Yosemite is a classic nature/outdoor adventure text and a fine example of John Muir nature writings. In this volume, Muir describes the Yosemite valley's geography and the various types of trees, flowers and animals that can be found there. John Muir (April 21, 1838 - December 24, 1914) was a Scottish-American naturalist, author, environmental philosopher and early advocate of preservation of wilderness in the United States. His letters, essays, and books telling of his adventures in nature, especially in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, have been read by millions. His activism helped to preserve the Yosemite Valley, Sequoia National Park and other wilderness areas. The Sierra Club, which he founded, is a prominent American conservation organization. The 211-mile (340 km) John Muir Trail, a hiking trail in the Sierra Nevada, was named in his honor.[2] Other such places include Muir Woods National Monument, Muir Beach, John Muir College, Mount Muir, Camp Muir and Muir Glacier. In Scotland, the John Muir Way, a 130 mile long distance route, was named in honor of him. In his later life, Muir devoted most of his time to the preservation of the Western forests. He petitioned the U.S. Congress for the National Park bill that was passed in 1890, establishing Yosemite National Park. The spiritual quality and enthusiasm toward nature expressed in his writings inspired readers, including presidents and congressmen, to take action to help preserve large nature areas. He is today referred to as the "Father of the National Parks" and the National Park Service has produced a short documentary about his life. Muir has been considered 'an inspiration to both Scots and Americans'. Muir's biographer, Steven J. Holmes, believes that Muir has become "one of the patron saints of twentieth-century American environmental activity," both political and recreational. As a result, his writings are commonly discussed in books and journals, and he is often quoted by nature photographers such as Ansel Adams. "Muir has profoundly shaped the very categories through which Americans understand and envision their relationships with the natural world," writes Holmes. Muir was noted for being an ecological thinker, political spokesman, and religious prophet, whose writings became a personal guide into nature for countless individuals, making his name "almost ubiquitous" in the modern environmental consciousness. According to author William Anderson, Muir exemplified "the archetype of our oneness with the earth", [ while biographer Donald Worster says he believed his mission was "...saving the American soul from total surrender to materialism." 403 On April 21, 2013, the first ever John Muir Day was celebrated in Scotland, which marked the 175th anniversary of his birth, paying homage to the conservationist. Muir was born in the small house at left. His father bought the adjacent building in 1842, and made it the family home.
Download or read book Picturesque America written by William Cullen Bryant and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 640 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Erosion written by Terry Tempest Williams and published by Macmillan + ORM. This book was released on 2019-10-08 with total page 330 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Timely and unsettling essays from an important and beloved writer and conservationist In Erosion, Terry Tempest Williams's fierce, spirited, and magnificent essays are a howl in the desert. She sizes up the continuing assaults on America's public lands and the erosion of our commitment to the open space of democracy. She asks: "How do we find the strength to not look away from all that is breaking our hearts?" We know the elements of erosion: wind, water, and time. They have shaped the spectacular physical landscape of our nation. Here, Williams bravely and brilliantly explores the many forms of erosion we face: of democracy, science, compassion, and trust. She examines the dire cultural and environmental implications of the gutting of Bear Ears National Monument—sacred lands to Native Peoples of the American Southwest; of the undermining of the Endangered Species Act; of the relentless press by the fossil fuel industry that has led to a panorama in which "oil rigs light up the horizon." And she testifies that the climate crisis is not an abstraction, offering as evidence the drought outside her door and, at times, within herself. These essays are Williams's call to action, blazing a way forward through difficult and dispiriting times. We will find new territory—emotional, geographical, communal. The erosion of desert lands exposes the truth of change. What has been weathered, worn, and whittled away is as powerful as what remains. Our undoing is also our becoming. Erosion is a book for this moment, political and spiritual at once, written by one of our greatest naturalists, essayists, and defenders of the environment. She reminds us that beauty is its own form of resistance, and that water can crack stone.
Download or read book Yosemite National Park and Vicinity written by Leroy Radanovich and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2006 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The astonishing scenery of Yosemite National Park is known throughout the world, primarily for the soaring granite outcroppings and graceful waterfalls around Yosemite Valley. But this park is much larger than just the valley. Relatively few visitors get to experience Yosemite's vast expanses, whether south to Wawona and Fish Camp or east to White Wolf and Tuolumne Meadows. Indeed, it was John Muir's efforts to protect the meadows and hills around the valley that ultimately led to the establishment of Yosemite National Park in 1890. The state park, which had been established in 1863 and consisted of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, was added to the federal park in 1913.
Download or read book Our National Parks written by John Muir and published by Read Books Ltd. This book was released on 2013-03-05 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: First published in 1901, “Our National Parks” is a fantastic guide to the wild mountain forest reservations and national parks of the United States, exploring their beauty and usefulness in an attempt to encourage contemporary readers to go out and enjoy the natural wonders of North America. John Muir (1838–1914) was an influential Scottish-American naturalist, environmental philosopher, botanist, zoologist, author, and glaciologist who famously fought to preserve wilderness in the United States of America. Muir's work describing his adventures in nature have been read by millions the world over and his activism has helped to conserve such important places of natural beauty as the Yosemite Valley and Sequoia National Park in America. Contents include: “The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West”, “The Yellowstone National Park”, “The Yosemite National Park”, “The Forests of the Yosemite Park”, “The Wild Gardens of the Yosemite Park”, “Among the Animals of the Yosemite”, “Among the Birds of the Yosemite”, “The Fountains and Streams of the Yosemite National Park”, etc. Other notable works by this author include: “My First Summer in the Sierra” (1911), “Steep Trails” (1918), and “The Story of My Boyhood and Youth” (1913). A Thousand Fields is republishing this classic book now complete with a biographical sketch of the author.
Download or read book Calaveras Big Trees written by Carol Kramer and published by Arcadia Publishing. This book was released on 2010-09-06 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Augustus T. Dowd could scarcely believe his eyes when he stumbled upon one of natures majestic wonders in 1852. Hunting down a wounded bear in the hills above the mining camp of Murphys, Dowd instead found a tree of mammoth proportions. After initial skepticism about the size of these trees, news of Dowds discovery quickly spread. Local businessmen soon acquired the grove of 100 mammoth trees, or giant sequoia, and built accommodations for travelers. Thus began one of Californias earliest tourist attractions in 1853. Dedicated as a California State Park in 1931, Calaveras Big Trees State Park hosts 250,000 annual visitors who come from around the world to marvel at these wondrous giants in their magnificent natural surroundings.
Download or read book Ancient Sentinels written by Thomas Harvey and published by . This book was released on 2018-05-08 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Giant sequoias are some of the few things on earth that can literally be described as "awesome." For many, spending time among the largest living things on the planet is a highlight of their lives. The knowledge packed into this slim book will unlock the secrets of these trees and make any visit to Yosemite's three groves even more rewarding.Ancient Sentinels provides bountiful information in a compact format, including: * maps of the Mariposa Grove, Merced Grove, and Tuolumne Grove; * what to do and see in the groves; * description, size, and age of the giant sequoia; * ecology and life history of the giant sequoia; * other places in the park where sequoias can be found; * a comparison with the sequoia's closest relatives, the coast and dawn redwoods; * and the history and future of this amazing species.
Download or read book Discovery of the Yosemite written by Lafayette Houghton Bunnell and published by . This book was released on 1880 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Historic Yosemite National Park written by Tracy Salcedo and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2016-06-03 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The history of Yosemite National Park is as compelling as the waterfalls, monoliths, and peaks that have mesmerized visitors for more than a century. But what hikers see today in the iconic Yosemite Valley, as well as on the peaks in the high country and within the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, is a world away from the place Native Americans once called Ahwahnee, and from what gold-seekers and mountain men looked upon in the park’s earliest days. Historic Yosemite National Park is a vibrant collection of stories about different aspects of Yosemite National Park’s fascinating history, from the conservation works of pivotal characters such as writer John Muir and photographer Ansel Adams to the daring exploits of rock climbers and the natural forces that have shaped Yosemite’s stunning vistas. These stories reveal why Yosemite National Park has inspired humankind for centuries.
Download or read book South of Yosemite written by John Muir and published by Tarcher. This book was released on 1988 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A selection of John Muir's letters, essays, and articles about his traveles south from Yosemite to Kern Canyon reveals his passion for this lesser-traveled southern Sierra region.
Download or read book A Year in the National Parks written by Stefanie Payne and published by . This book was released on 2018-05 with total page 240 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On January 1 of 2016, Stefanie Payne, a creative professional working at NASA Headquarters, and Jonathan Irish, a photographer with National Geographic, left their lives in Washington, D.C. and hit the open road on an expedition to explore and document all 59 of America's national parks during the centennial celebration of the U.S. National Park Service - 59 parks in 52 weeks - the Greatest American Road Trip. Captured in more than 300,000 digital photographs, written stories, and videos shared by the national and international media, their project resulted in an incredible view of America's National Park System seen in its 100th year. 'A Year in the National Parks, The Greatest American Road Trip' is a gorgeous visual journey through our cherished public lands, detailing a rich tapestry of what makes each park special, as seen along an epic journey to visit them all within one special celebratory year.
Download or read book The Men of Mammoth Forest written by Floyd Leslie Otter and published by . This book was released on 1963 with total page 228 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trails Tales of Yosemite the Central Sierra written by Sharon Giacomazzi and published by Bored Feet Publications. This book was released on 2001 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Trees of Stanford and Environs written by Ronald Newbold Bracewell and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
