world, ireland and -- israel and ukraine give us new concerns. let us send them the treaty. it took more than eight months to sign it on christmas eve 1814. but it was worth it. t was worth it so we came here to confirm this with a peace this with aps flower, a rose. flower, a rose. >> to receive this gift from them is so symbolic. and then as a final gesture of goodwill, we gave each individual a long stemmed rose as their own personal takeaway on the events and to remind them throughout the day of the shared respect and admiration we have for one another.

was in attendance had that sense of warmth and and regard for each other and for the country. it was really special. >> coming up next, sierra club volunteer harold wood discusses the legacy of con survey shifts that conservationists and national list john your -- john muir. by thes hosted california historical society, as a part of the commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the wilderness act.

>> we want to hear harold would tonight. he will give us an incredible 'surney through john muir life. that legacy is stronger than ever. to hearing forward you talk. i promise to be relatively brief here and just say a few words of welcome. and thank you all for coming. i want to say that i really am a huge fan of the two organizations that had us here tonight. the california historical society, what a great place for great work that is preserving our cultural and historic heritage here in california. and the partner, the sierra club. for all of the great work it has been doing since 1892 to protect our natural landscapes here and throughout the nation. what a legacy.

a couple of quick questions, how many of you have been to yosemite before? , that is good. how about sequoia? kings canyon? let's not leave those guys out. sequoia is our second national park. without his work we wouldn't have those places to celebrate and enjoy. i just want to say a few .ersonal words this is a big year of celebration. 50 years of the wilderness act and the leg he is incredible.

my family on my mom's side, they johna little lazier then was. they waited until a transcontinental railroad was completed then bought a ticket and came out come of getting in as early as the 1870's. he came in a bit earlier than that. time,ived, most of their in costa county. saw johnzed they frequently in route to yosemite and they went up to yosemite themselves in the late 19th century. it was only a few moments ago in the grand historic reach of time that he was keyer and making a huge difference in our lives then and now. it is appropriate we are gathered here tonight, just shy

of the centennial of his passing, which was christmas eve of 1914. we have so much to talk about tonight and think about what uir has givenjohn m us since. my moment that gave me the gift -- gift of an incredible childhood. 105 years olde tonight. i am dedicating whatever i have to say to my mom. my earliest memories are of being in the mountains on the ease side and west side and westside and up-and-down and all around. member when i could not have a passion for the outdoors and for nature. i could remember when not have passion for the outdoors and for nature.

fresno was pretty darn cool. us, ato the east of couple of hours was sequoia and teens canyon. to the north of us was yosemite. truly believed that was my own personal national park. up to the fact that in the 50's i trampled more medals than i care to remember, just being there. i felt i got to to grow up in the light of john muir. i/o him personally a great debt of gratitude for all of the inspiration -- i oh him personally a great debt of gratitude for all his inspiration. as i was growing up i went on to

live and work all over the country. for the last 45 years i have worked at the intersection of the media, mostly tv. following him john muir -- following in john yours footsteps. been one of the greatest athletes of the 19th century. saunter and climb glaciers and get into the backcountry of southeast alaska and all of these places he went all over the world, twitterverse interpret them and care about them and help protect them. i lived in alaska for a long time and was still deeply involved. john muir went into alaska in ,he late 1870's, 1880's, 1890's the first anglo european to sort glaciers.o the

many of you read his stories of adventure and discovery in that landscape all those years ago. 1899 he was on board the harem expedition. how many of you saw butch cassidy and the sundance kid? the canes -- the trains they kept robbing -- he was a person. the writings of meurer and the played anf muir instrumental role to begin the protection of the national forest.

it became the largest forest inside the united states, still at risk and still battles being for -- battles being fought. we have our own personal specific memories. it is extraordinary to think about where he traveled, what he did, and the sierra club. and those that followed him in to build on those early years. harold is going to cover so much of this, so i don't want to step on this. ofo want to mention a couple things. i do have a few notes i wanted to remind myself to say to you. area -- ik at the bay traveled and lived in alaska. 31 years ago this month my wife our first baby child.

we decided it was time to come back to california. for me it was this gift of coming back and rediscover a place i dealt i knew really well that i felt i knew very well. rediscover a place i felt i knew really well with fresh eyes. it tied with my values and my interests to john muir and the sierra club. was great to come back and see all of this and recognize in the year subsequent to his death -- people i had to meet -- people i got to meet like ansell adams and many others. hard, creating the wilderness act, pushing it forward. specialans played a role in protecting the bay from utter destruction.

the largest collection of protected public lands and open spaces, any major urban region on earth, 1.2 million acres. maybe 1.3, i lose track. it is growing. that is an extraordinary legacy. goes back to all of the decades of work and labor that so many people provided. we have all of these things we get to benefit from. the national park service idea deeply rooted right here in california. john muir, at the center of that whole concept. kent.e william in 1908 the national monument -- which is now part of the golden gate recreation area, one of the

first national parks created right where people live. now you can trace that dna back. the university of california deeply connected to the establishment of the national park service is. all of these connections, these ideas that took root here and grew, it is an amazing legacy that we get to benefit from right here. and then especially the wilderness that we are focusing on here today. the great passionate voice and advocate for wilderness, far ahead of his time. here er in 1964, the work of the sierra club and others. and california, right at the front of support of that.

they have been at the center of innovation. a very long time. vicki, back here so far. let's see here. has more wilderness areas than any other state in the nation. we have 149 of the 758 national wilderness areas right here in california. alaska, my old stomping grounds, has more acreage. it is a little larger. by the way, we have to thank the sierra club and some others for making that possible, when they worked throughout the 1970's.

late december, 1980, weeks before ronald reagan took on the job, they were able to get passed and signed by jimmy carter the national alaska largesttion act, the conservation act in human industry, protecting 104 million acres, the site -- the size of the state of california. doubling our wildlife refuge system. an amazing thing. it roots back to the sierra club, roots back to john muir. we have 15% of our land mass in california as wilderness. we are only 1% behind alaska. that is not bad. california is very close. thefornia is also one of only states that has its own state designated wilderness areas that grew out of the federal designations of 1964. we have taken this idea, 50

years old, and put it to ground here in california. we have 12 wilderness areas officially designated as a california state park. here, then the region regional park district, largest regional park district in the world, 100 14,000 acres, it has three designated wilderness areas. right near where john muir's historic home is. water, thend but wilderness area is now celebrating its aquatic -- its 40th anniversary this year. we have all that and a whole up muiras a result of john and his gifts to us in california. enough from me. i could go on for a long time but i am really looking forward

to hearing harold wood. he has a great thing to tell us about. a great story to take us and tell us about john muir. he lives right here near fresno. he had that great outdoor backyard i used to have. meurer -- off the the john muir education team. he also chairs the educational programs in you 70 -- in yosemite. curator of the john muir exhibit and master of its website on the sierra club. answers questions. harold basically answers questions from young people of all ages constantly about john beer -- john muir. he is a walking encyclopedia of his life and legacy. he doesn't just chronicle john beer, he is an environmental activist himself -- john muir, he is an environmental activist himself.

he was very involved in helping to promote and create, through his efforts, wilderness areas in the state of washington, including clearwater. parenthetically, washington is third behind alaska and california for division of land mass and wilderness areas it is 10% in washington. harold, thanks for your efforts in helping you get to that number. -- helping get to that number. harold is going to take us on an incredible journey tonight here inside yosemite, down a virtual john muir trail. harold, it's all yours. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. as i have worked since 1994, maintaining the sierra club's

i'm constantly reminded how john muir is as relevant today as he was 100 years ago. every day i am notified by google news of an article mentioning john beer. every week i received a steady stream of e-mails with questions and requests about john muir. 100 years after his death, john muir is still well known for his ability to inspire many people from all over the world, all nationalities, to experience and care about the natural world. imagine my surprise when someone sent me an article today from "the los angeles times," questioning the relevance of john muir today. the author said we do not need wilderness because hispanics don't go to yosemite. not my experience. --et john muir only expires only inspires wilderness areas.

as we heard he inspired many local urban parks as well. a strawman vision of john muir that is historically inaccurate and toled to completely -- complete and accurate per trail of his inspiration around the world today. -- accurate portrayal of his inspiration around the world today. i think we will respond adequately to the misinformation of that article. last few yearse provides many examples of the continuing inspiration of john muir. the categories i would like to cover include international inspiration, land protection, education, and the arts. 2014 is the anniversary of many events related to wilderness, national parks, and force protection. -- and forest protection. event, it is 100

years after john muir died after losing a battle to save hetch hetchy. we can celebrate the 50th anniversary of the wilderness act today only because the legacy of john muir and his followers. in many ways celebrating that wilderness -- the wilderness act is not about ager. it is more fundamentally about people. even though john muir lived before organized efforts for legislativeilderness preservation systems, his own efficacy for wildlands laid the groundwork for public support for future wilderness legislation. find that john muir is becoming more and more a global inspiration as his life is celebrated increasingly throughout the u.s., his birthplace in scotland, and elsewhere. of course, this is nothing new

for the california historic society. the society came up with 50 nominees considered as the top 10 greatest californians. a committee of 17 historians selected these nominees. a poll was conducted of society members, and john muir was chosen as the overall number one greatest californian. not to be outdone, the scots decided to be -- the sided to have a pulled about the greatest scott. they did -- decided to have a scot.bout the greatest they included many patriots of scotland. well, john muir did not win this exercise, but title went to his favorite poet. so he really won. robert burns. john muir would have approved.

he treasured burns all of his life. burns,ing about robert john muir could wax elegantly when he was describing trees or glaciers. he wrote, "his lessons of divine love and sympathy to humanity, which he preached in his poems and sent forth white-hot from ringing andas gone singing around the globe, stirring the hearts of every -- andand race ar race." the appreciation for john muir in the land of his birth is increasing. scotland'st of homecoming celebration. the country celebrated a year-long john muir festival, with a series of special events, programs, and enterprises, all focused on bringing john muir home to his birthplace in scotland.

one of their major efforts was to establish a walking and cycling route in scotland named in john muir's honor. they were going to chop -- going to call it the john muir trail, but realized that could be confused with the wilderness route in sierra, california. instead it goes across the middle of scotland, including many of the urban areas. the john muir way stretches 134 miles across scotland's the west, running from to his birthplace in dunbar on the east coast. the walking and hiking trail is only one of the many efforts in scotland this year to bring home his legacy. publications sought to remind people that john muir so often taught of -- that john muir, so often thought of as american and californian, was born and raised in scotland.

there was even a national conference in scotland about parks and protected areas that was named the john muir conference. i am told all of the keynote speakers quoted john muir favorably in some way or another. has taken some years of efforts in scotland to remind the scottish that john muir was born in a small seacoast fishing village of dunbar. after two decades, that reminder has become effective. placed --uir birth birthplace trust, a citizens , have worked hard to remind people of scotland and many visitors from the united states about john muir as a scottish environmental hero. muir's first climbing experiences run the dunbar castle ruins.

was born in the small white on the left. the largerved to house on the right. the smaller building was renovated in 2003 to a museum dedicated to john muir's life and work. it has thousands of visitors every year. in 2012 they counted 100,000 visitors is the museum open. it includes many great exhibits on three stories, designed to inform visitors and young people about the importance of john the, and through him importance of protecting the natural environment of all sizes, large and small. replace hosts numerous programs with school groups in the community. hostsn muir birthplace and was programs with school groups in the community.

when the new scottish parliament building, edinburgh, was dedicated in 2004, the spirit of john euro -- of john muir was included. before quotations from preeminent writers and authors of scotland were inscribed. there is an inscription from john muir, reading, "the battle for conservation will go on endlessly. it is part of the universal battle between right and wrong." the closest equivalent to that attributed in the united states is the extra mile volunteer pathway in washington dc. this is a new national monument dedicated to the spirit of volunteering in america. john muir was given a plaque on the volunteer pathway in 2009 by the points of light organization.

the extensive inscription is sort of like a hollywood walk of fame. called john muir -- and the worldwide influence of the sierra club. he raised awareness about the fragility of the wilderness and made us mindful that in preserving it we say something -- wer than ourselves save something greater than ourselves." the trust was established as a membership organization in 1983 to conserve wild land and while places in the united kingdom. by theh inspired americas sierra club, the hastegy the john muir trust to work through less legislation. the john muir trust actually purchases wild landscapes and now owns some of the finest wild

land in the highlands, mountains, and islands of scotland. the john muir award is a large part of the trust environmental education program. is awardedir award retrospectively at an annual dinner. it is more like a college academic certificate or scout merit badge that both young people and adults can deliberately earned by completing a series of identified tasks. goal is to encourage people to connect with, enjoy, and care for while places, large and small. aroundacy has been scotland quite a number of years before the homecoming celebration this year. environmental education efforts especially have focused on john muir. booklets and curriculum seek to remind children in scotland that

he is one of their own, that they would do well to follow in his footsteps. there was even a graphic novel of john muir's life published this year. free copies were sent to every secondary school in scotland, and teacher resources are available on the web, as well as free pdf downloads of this novel. novel, the book rather closely follows john pretty accurately, while simplifying and paraphrasing for a young audience. age 11 emigrated to wisconsin with his family in 1849. he was soon put to work rooting out the forest to plant crops. he fell in love with the lake near their house, where he learned to swim by watching the frogs. he admired the flowers in the meadow by the lake.

when he left the farm to attend the university of wisconsin, he asked his family put a fence around the flowery meadow to keep the wildness intact. this is one of the earliest efforts of wild life preservation in the united states. the good folks in wisconsin today formed a group called "wisconsin friends of john muir," who seek to separate his life and legacy equally in wisconsin. local efforts established john county park next to his boyhood home site. since that time in the 70's and land wastional acquired around his beloved mountain lake farm and protected under state management. additionaln protective parcel was acquired by the national heritage land trust of wisconsin. it is essentially owned by the u.s. wildlife service.

the purchase will permanently protect nearly 200 additional acres of high quality woodland, prairie, and wetland habitat, including the eight acres of land originally settled by john years father, daniel, adjacent to the existing wildlife refuge and park. sierra club vice president spencer black gave a keynote speech on october 15 of this year in madison, wisconsin, celebrating the protection. his speech recognize that while while john muir failed to preserve the land in his lifetime, efforts have protected the landscape and inspired john muir to protect our while places. the wisconsin chapter is called the john muir chapter. here in northern california we have the home that john muir lived in for much of his adult

life. this is not only the 50th anniversary of the wilderness act, that also of the establishment of the john muir national historic site in martinez peanut this is -- in martinez. this is the home he lived in for many years with his wife and two dollars -- two daughters. i wonder how many of you have visited this site. i am always amazed how few people in the bay area have gone to the john muir historic site, it is right across the day. please go there and encourage your friends and neighbors. more visitors from outside the on area -- it is one of the song delights of the national park system right here in the bay area. study,ir called it his on the second floor. this is where he wrote many of his books and articles. if the wilderness movement has holy ground, this is surely one

of its primary temples. the john muir association works with the national park service to celebrate his legacy in the bay area. it holds numerous public events and educational programs, including a mountain the summer camp where children learn firsthand about john muir and the importance of protecting wild places. are particularly important, because unlike his birthplace in scotland, there is no visitor center and museum with more than a couple of displays and exhibits to provide detailed information about john muir's life, just his historic home with period furnishings. near the national historic site, the memory -- his memory is often called upon for historic land space presentations. one of the local land trusts is ,alled the john muir land trust

working in costa county. just this summer a housing development was proposed for 44 acres, adjacent to the national historic site. instead a conservation group bought the land and is planning to add it to the historic site. it is not only grand wild landscapes that need protecting, but also bits and pieces of wildness in our cities and urban areas. of course tributes focused on john muir is nothing new here in california. the famous john muir woods, named after the donor of the lands, became a national monument proclaimed by theodore roosevelt, is the best-known redwood park in the world open to its close proximity to san francisco. world, owing to its close proximity to san francisco.

mural in santa monica. it was a proposal to remove it, it has been there since the 1970's. a vigorous and noisy campaign andsoon and -- campaign soon. it is attributed to him as an environmental hero. john muir is truly a statewide and national importance. in 1989 the california legislator at his birthday, april 21, as a camera relative -- as a commemorative day. unfortunately i have to say with some embarrassment as a californian, despite this law and educational program about

john muir has not been integrated into the educational program here in california as much as it h been in scotland. however john muir is a popular topic for students writing special reports and presentations, especially for the annual national history day contest. notents are required to nearly research typical but tory sources, identify on-site primary historic and contemporary sources. quickly saw the length of his efforts in the national parks. the granddaddy of grand landscape preservation is yosemite national park, celebrating its 150th anniversary of the grant to the state. we all know john muir's role about writing about yosemite, which led to the establishment

of the first set of national parks outside of yellowstone efforts for environmental protection and education was slated for the next several years. the petrified forests in arizona is one of the first national monuments claimed by president roosevelt at john muir's urging in 1906, the same year the antiquities act authorized presidents to proclaim such national monuments. since then many presidents have added units to the national park system through monument designation. monumentss national under blm or force jurisdictions as well. -- or forest jurisdictions as well. the petrified forest is now a andonal park, enlarged

established by congress in 1962. it contains a 50,000 acre wilderness established in 1970. in fact the petrified forest , where the first units of the national park system -- national park were the first units of the system to receive their boundaries. the movement to establish national monuments has continued. president bill clinton proclaims a giant sequoia national inument near where i live april of 2000. he quoted to record from john muir, saying, "these domestic -- these majestic trees will continue to promote god from heaven." it was the result of citizen efforts. most recent national monument was just proclaimed last month by president obama

here in california, just north of los angeles. is one ofel mountains the most recent in a series of national monuments proclaimed that almost every president since theodore roosevelt. pinnacles national park is our notedecent national park -- note the quotes here. everybody needs beauty as well as bread. pray in, play in and where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul alike. legacy through his life reminds us of the important things that one person can do. said "if you think about all the games our society has made, from independence to now, it was not government. it was activism. roosevelt's teddy

-- teddy roosevelt established a national park, what a great president. it was john muir who invited roosevelt out and convinced him to ditch his security and go camping. near, an activist and single person. assee the idea of wilderness important in the legacy of john muir. his successors are those who actually created our national wilderness reservation system. one of those leaders, you all interview asked in an about how he was introduced to wilderness said, "through the reading of john muir. john told you about the wilderness. john muir is one of the founders of the sierra club and launched a movement that lasted well beyond his lifetime.

successors would go on to found the national park service, the california state parks, conservation groups ranging from save the redwoods league to wilderness society, to local land trusts and local park districts. the wilderness society is well-known as a principal author of the 1964 wilderness act. meurer --ollower of of john muir. he quoted -- he said -- accordingly it was a foregone coalition -- foregone conclusion that a wilderness area be included in the 1964 wilderness act. i'm sorry, i went forward. today, much of what he called the range of light is wilderness , thanks to his influence and that of his successors.

ken burns called our national parks america's best idea. idea is the a pity me of the essence of wilderness. but yet it is wilderness preservation that is among the most controversial of issues. not all wilderness has been preserved and protected. just as the river flows through the yosemite river valley, the to all of the river once flowed. this view is what it looked like in his time. his life wass of spent in a losing battle to try to preserve this valley. in this image the top photo was inen in 1911, and the bottom 1999. one thing is the loss did that is inspire a movement to prevent the same thing from happening in other national

parks. and even the grand canyon in the 60's were defeated in part due to the reference to hetch hetchy. john muir's spirit lives on. the advocacy group restore hetch hetchy has been working for over a decade to restore the valley. they promised to keep working as long as it takes to prove that john muir was right. and john muir still lives on in his books. every single one of his books is still in print, with new reprints and new forwards in the last several years. even though first published over 100 years ago. the 100th anniversary illustrated edition of his book, "my first summer in sierra," was the outdoor book winner.

it is a handsome coffee table book with stunning photos by scott miller of the places john muir described in his environmental classic. furthermore, his legacy is regularly celebrated as books are being published today. tomesrange from scholarly and geographical analysis. wonderfully illustrated children's books. coming out next year in 2015, as usual. other tributes are common today. more seem to be added regularly. many know the trail that crosses high country. completed in 1938, the project

had taken 46 years to complete. the firstlby, secretary of the sierra club, the moste finish trail important memorial to john mealer, who spent many of the best years of his life exploring the region, which will make accessible. a -- which he will make accessible. 1998 the post-office released honoring john muir. this stimulated an outpouring from stamp collectors. the u.s. mint began distributing millions of these quarters, the california state quarter, featuring john muir. john muir is also celebrated in song and music today. than one dozen songs about john muir, many recorded in the past few years.

there has even been a broadway style musical about his life performed in the bay area with a run for about seven years. there is an increasing number of orchestral arrangements inspired by john muir. there are at least three orchestral pieces. her most recent is a narrative concert performed by a string quartet, called "john mears university of the wilderness -- muir's."s -- "john buildings are named after him as well, in california and in scotland. there are many schools throughout the united states, named after john muir. ranging from elementary schools

like one right here in san francisco, and the john muir college at you see san diego. there are even numerous scientific names honoring john muir. these include not only some of the plants he collected himself and sent to the harvard have area him, but even a kind of mineral. these were given in just the fast two years, showing that john muir's legacy is still alive. he has been featured in milk cartons. that they area joined a campaign to think john muir for encouraging national parks and wilderness areas. he is often called the wilderness profit, the patron saint of the american wilderness. i guess you guys don't want to take that literally. these terms are

typically metaphorical, not religious. it actually appears that at least one religious denomination is actually positive and forms a sainthood. listhas been added to the of women and men celebrating the saints by the piscopo church of america. at saint gregory's a pistol's are -- it piscopo church here piscopo church -- his spiritbute to that he is also claimed by and peoplend pagans of other religious persuasions as well. the international astronomical union announce the naming of a newly discovered minor planets in honor of john muir. only a tiny one mile

diameter celestial body, now named john muir. it was discovered in august 2000 four by an amateur astronomer, by an astronomer. i think this development seems appropriate for someone who gave as earth.s he is widely present in the digital world. two new ipad apps came out this month. app features high-resolution scans of two of his homes, but extensive information about john muir's life and inspiration. another new ipad app is called "explore john muir's yosemite or yosemite." this includes text selections, photographs,

and audio media from john muir. you can even follow him on facebook and enjoy a steady stream of his quotes each day. a facebook page for john muir fans often has folks discussing issues relevant to him and his legacy. we are talking about places and education. greatestne of his legacies is not even wilderness preservation or national parks, understand societies the characteristic of the interrelatedness of all living .hings he's a saintly summarized the meaning of ecology by artfully try to pickn you out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." in 1914, may have died but his spirit lives on in so

many ways. perhaps the best no way of connecting john muir to the present is through the committee -- through the continuing activity of the sierra club. the sierra club expands beyond wilderness preservation alone, given the massive threat we face of climate change. the club is not forgotten. the john muir society to recognize largest donors. the angeles this chapter is undertaking special offense. -- special events. there is also a growing recognition that wilderness preservation is actually an important part of responding to climate change.

it works on the john muir exhibit website and other education efforts to remind people of the inspiration john muir can provide of the efforts to protect wilderness and a heritage. please see our website, hosted by the sierra club. thank you. [applause] >> thank you very much. in my introduction -- i fail to mention among many things i could have, you really lead that effort in 1989, 25 years ago. thank you so much for that.

i'm sure we have time for questions, don't we go -- don't we? if you would like to come up to this microphone, we would appreciate it so c-span can get it and we all can hear it. >> herald, you don't know me but i know you. say i know you -- [feedback] testing. all right. know you because i am

president of the john muir tourism center in coulterville. i am a teacher first, i am a teacher in coulterville. on saturday some of my students will be coming here to exhibit a -- theyy promoted created for the yosemite youth contest. to round been trying them up to see if i can get them to come and so forth and i went on to find you are going to be here tonight. and just out of sheer determination i left school at 3:00 this afternoon from .oulterville i don't know if john muir would approve of it, because i made it here by taking bart. i decided to run down to the center and bring you a gift. this is for you to pass on to

thats at your discretion you think would be worthy. it has some artifacts about coulterville. it is a signed copy by scott miller, both of them. i appreciate you having this opportunity to do this. i do want to say the center in coulterville, where john muir walked in 1868, just four years after after abraham lincoln signed the grant, we have original copies of all of his original books on display there. that is all that i would want to say. thank you so much. [applause] >> i was up in coulterville and couple of years ago for one of of therograms -- one programs they do annually to celebrate john's memory.

unfortunately i heard the jeffrey hotel, where i stayed, had a fire in the past couple of days. i'm hoping they will be able to restore that. >> [indiscernible] part was actually protected and not burned down. john muir stayed there as well. sometimes he did stay in hotels. >> any other questions? we have john muir right here, as a matter of fact. involved ind be restoring hetch hetchy? how many billions would it take to find in other place on the water? >> good question.

say the reservoir is one of nine reservoirs along the quality -- the quality river. it's simple he talks about redistributing the location where it would be restored. a lot of people cried that the dollar amounts are huge. maybe one price of bomber. a new tunnel was built in .eattle -- a little bit less than what the trade center cost to build. we just have to to have the will to do it. i think that will become increasingly important.

the valley has assembled the need for restoration. now calling for greatly expanded wilderness areas, saying we are too timid shouldproposals and we allocate half of planet earth to the wildlife. to buildegy is wildlife corridors that could include private lands that would run north and south, east and west. let's not be timid. let's care for the earth like john muir did. [applause] >> anybody else? yes. >> a few years ago i looked up john muir -- i looked up his papers. i think they are at pepperdine. the university of pacific, where his papers are.

>> you can go online and see all of his drawings and read his stuff. you will be there for hours. the collection. thank you. -- a lovely collection. >> some of you interested in history may help out with that collection. they have it you ties most of his journals and letters. they are now working on trans -- most of hisgitized journals and letters. they are now working on transcribing. it takes a while to learn to read his handwriting, it is not totally easy. it is exciting to decipher his actual words on the paper he wrote. theman then submit that to on the online system and help out their efforts. of greatdoing a lot work in connecting students at the university pacific. they have a required freshman class where you learn about john muir. they take trips to yosemite and

learn about the importance of conservation. educational efforts and historic efforts are really meshed together there. >> other questions? don't hesitate. if you do want to do it, why don't you get off in line here. i read a collection of some of his stories, some of his adventures. he had amazing adventures. you have any favorites of yours? i know one where a couple people he was traveling with ran out of water. they almost died climbing mount whitney. a bunch of bracing stuff. i am curious if you had a favorite. , astetson has a great book collection of these kind of stories of muir's adventures. i think it is for sale here. lee stetson's criteria was that john muir had to almost die in the incident in order to be included in the book.

and there is over a dozen stories. so, you know, there is many of them. i think one of my favorites is how he rode on avalanche in yosemite valley. the snow started going and he realized if he started tumbling, he would die. he spreadout spreadeagled and glided down. one of the first extreme sports, you know, ever seen. [laughter] his other adventures -- climbing mount ritter and feeling like he was going to fall because he could not move anyplace up or down. he took a -- he just did not know what to do. over him,resence took and he magically started climbing again. i think that shows the importance of the subconscious mind. more fromarn psychological traits like that. come over here, if you do have a question.

we ask you to come to this microphone. >> we are actually pretty early. i was pretty fast. you guys have got 45 minutes. >> if you have a question or comment, come right to that spot. >> i wanted to touch a little bit on the value the artist played in the 19th century, in terms of conveying the picked pictoral beauty of these wonderful landscapes. i am familiar with william keith, the artist. hikeam and john muir would into the sierras together for weeks at a time. are you familiar with that artist, william keith, at all? >> william keith was a good friend of john muir. they had an interesting friendship. - muirrstand that near - studio,me to keith's and they would argue over the

art. art should be accurate, inspire people about nature. the artist, william keith, his idea was more, i want to express my feelings and myself into this. it is a natural landscape, but some are dark and brooding. some of his later work, i do not like much, because they are dark and brooding, whereas earlier work often did have beautiful scenes of the sierra and helped inspire some of the preservation efforts. but despite their arguments over some of these things, muir and keith were friends, lifelong friends. muir is a scot. like a lawyer, he liked to argue a little bit. he argued with his other friends as well. -- essayist john wasoughs, from new york, widely read, as john muir was in

their time. they argued all the time, waxuse muir would eloquently about nature and burroughs would want to stay in his little home town and go birding around the fields and meadows, the local farms. they were constantly in a tug-of-war about how best to appreciate nature. they went on the harriman expedition together and had a number of little arguments. they were friends. you see pictures in pasadena, sitting together. they had a jovial time. muir did have some famous friends. >> in thinking about the yosemite valley today, and the meadows being trampled, do you have any thoughts on how we go about preserving wilderness and enabling people to enjoy or experience it, and also protect it from overuse or degradation? >> in john muir's time, he did

not foresee there would be 4 million visitors a year to yosemite valley. when it was first proposed to have automobiles in the valley, he was not press the end enough to see that would create a big problem. -- he was not prescient enough to see that would create a big problem. he said, let those mechanical beetles then, as long as people enjoy the wilderness. some parts of it are very urban, very over crowded, noisy, loud. i think there needs to be a mode of public transit to substitute for the automobile, and it is sort of a big problem, because where are you going to park, and whatever? in the barked in -- bart bay area. there ought to be a way to have a monorail system through yosemite valley someday to accommodate the visitors. that is another

reason to advocate for protecting hetch hetchy. make that a counterpart that would not be developed the same way yosemite valley was developed. him,you have to backpack like an tabby would have said. like auntk in, abby would have said. muir, pre-california, he walked from indiana through the old confederacy, down to savannah and along the gulf coast. and a lot of that was, he kept notes on the floor of the south. -- the flora of the south. he also talked about the people and the post-civil war era, the destruction and so on. length aboutat any that beyond those notes or a diary of that hike? >> his book published after his death, "a thousand mile walk to

the gulf," is largely taken from those journals he kept on that thousand mile walk from indianapolis down to cedar key, florida. he wrote about both people he met and the flora and fauna. and the time was right after the civil war. there were marauding bandits around still a little bit. people tried to rob him, he would still say, here is my botanical press kit. are you interested in that? he got away with it. -- that journey was supposed to be the first to sell -- ack trip to south america. he wanted to go to the amazon like alexander von humboldt. his idea was to go to florida and catch a ship that would go down. he made it as far as havana, cuba.

apparently, when he was sleeping in savannah, georgia, a famous cemetery there, he got mosquito bites, and he got malaria. so by the time he arrived in cuba, he was so ill with that, he realized he was not going to make it on this trip to amazon. he changed to another boat that would come across to california, because he heard about yosemite. it was supposed to be a side trip on the way to the amazon, and it was, because in 1911, a few years before his death, he finally did make it to the amazon. at that point, a 76-year-old man. not quite as rugged. as fartook a haute trip as the upper reaches of the amazon. took canoeing out to see some of the flora, the special plants that lived in that area. lifelong dreama to get down to that area eventually.

>> can you talk a little bit about how john muir and differed d pinchot met,for and the ideological split? was a commission gifford had been chosen on to survey the forests of the united states and make a report to roosevelt for recommendations. was invited to not be an official commission member, but kind of a guest on it, to kind of provide some balance for all the people who had degrees. he did not have a degree, although they often call him dr. dmuir. but it was an honorific. receive honorary doctorates, but he did not even graduate from college. he was a college dropout.

people like pinchot and others as just aiss muir sheepherder who did not know anything. but i think a lot of it was not only knowledge, but attitude. there is a really telling story. when gifford pinchot and john muir were visiting the rain canyon together, can show -- pinchot saw a rattlesnake and his first instinct was to kill it. john muir said, that rattlesnake belongs here. you are not right to kill it just because it is living in its native had it -- habitat. there was an attitude difference. that is what i think happened with gifford pinchot. he felt nature was to be exploited, to be utilized for mankind, for the greatest good of the greatest number was his hallmark. i cannot criticize that too much, you know? given the time, that was a wise protect theway to

forest with sustainable forest rate. -- forestry. asr is sometimes thought of being against that. if you study him, you find he wanted wilderness areas on top of the managed forests. he wanted some forest. he said he was ok with having some logging and whatever, but he wanted fire protection, wildlife protection in those areas. he just did not want to stop with that. remember, muir was a farmer as well. and as a farmer, he knew sometimes you have to work with the land and that kind of a basis. but he had the foresight that we also need wilderness areas that we leave alone. to me, that is the greatness of muir. he could see we should have both, and gifford pinchot could never see that. so there is a difference. >> i have a question this time.

you mentioned that you can learn a lot psychologically from muir as well, and i have done some reading, and both muir and lincoln, who were somewhat contemporaries -- lincoln older, but both geniuses i think in their own way. and both had similar backgrounds growing up. and have you given any thought to their background, their relationships with their dad, andexample, each of them, how that might have affected their education and their drive and motivation and so forth? thank you. well, it is often spoken of about the difficult relationship john muir had with his father, daniel. daniel was one of these kind of , who wouldpeople change the religious sect that he wanted his family to belong to on a monthly basis.

know, each had to be a little more rigorous than the last. ande were times when muir his brothers and sisters were on the farm, doing lots of hard work, and daniel, his father, would say, you should just eat oatmeal and graham crackers, not meet, the cause he decided you needed to be a good christian. when the father was burning the ifest, he would tell muir, you were wicked, you will get thrown into that fire just like the eternal damnation of hell. that is what it would be like. muir today would be considered abusedsed child -- an child. he was beaten by his father was self-willed and wanted to take at least sundays off to go swimming in the lake. that was the only time they were able to do it. the rest of the time was backbreaking, dawn to dusk work.

it is interesting. muir in his adulthood, with his two daughters, he was there he careful. the schools he would send them to, he would make sure they did not believe in corporal punishment. in anyed to oppose that form. it did have some influence on his makeup. luckily, he survived that and came out pretty well. >> how are we doing on time? is 7:30. that is about our time, more or less. do we have time? i am looking around for authority. i guess we have seized authority here. which may be a dangerous thing. cue from somea people who are more authoritative than we are, we could wrap this up.

i want to say a couple quick things. first of all, this is toward the end unless we have another question. i rolled, thank you so much. you have been fantastic. all nighten to you long. i want to add to something that harold mentioned earlier. i want to encourage everyone to go out and visit the john muir historic site. it really is -- it is up the block from where the martini was invented and joe dimaggio grew up. home itally, the muir is great, and the land has been protected. you mentioned the land trust, an organization i support a lot. though out and enjoy it. find out what they are up to. muir'se working in john backyard, on his legacy. a gay hike up mount wanda. saunter in the -- take a hike up mount wanda. saunter in the place john muir walked.

we talked about restoration. you have all been to muir beach, i suppose, and the headlands. up to the lower watershed of redwood creek. that flows through the muir anods out to the sea, iconic stream. the national park service over the past five years have done an extra ordinary job in restoring the lower watershed of redwood itek from a lot of damage experienced since the gold rush, to bring it back to its more natural landscape. have been reconfigured. a new path for the river has been established. 30,000 plus native plants have been planted. of ana transformation ecological universe, as well as a visitor experience. if you have not been lately, go out there. it is restoration. the goal in initially was to preserve habitat for coho and

steelhead. there in smalln numbers, but the restoration will be a big help. the restoration is something john muir would love. and you are just below muir woods. wandering around the neighborhood and finding where john muir lit -- used to hang out occasionally, go to the sweden borja church, a fascinating place, and see -- when he was not worshiping he would be at the sweden borja and -- swe denborian church. is in the landscapes we love and the places we care about. the ideas hopefully are going to be advancing, and growing, and more relevant in the future even than they are today. any other questions or comments?

if not, thank you so much for coming. enjoy this wonderful place. and see you soon. [applause] >> you are watching american history tv, 48 hours of programming on american history every weekend on c-span three. follow us on twitter for information on our schedule, upcoming programs, and to keep up with the latest history news. >> all weekend long, american history tv is featuring lafayette and west lafayette, indiana. in august 1859, lafayette was the first site to officially deliver the u.s. mail by air. launched in a balloon the mail , never reached its final destination in new york but landed instead near

crawfordsville, indiana, due to bad weather. it made the rest of the journey by train. together with our comcast cable partners, our staff recently visited many sites exploring the rich history of lafayette and west lafayette. learn more about these cities all weekend on american history tv. >> t minus 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4 we have main engine start. >> america's first space shuttle. go! >> beautiful. >> go, honey, go! fly like an eagle! go! >> we are at the flight simulator building at purdue university. and this is where a lot of things started in aviation.

the purdue program was the first in the country to offer bachelor's degrees to pilots in the middle 1960's. and today, it continues to be one of the best, one of the finest flight programs in the country. we have so many people who have been so important. i can tell you, going back to the beginning, some of the country's most important figures -- billy mitchell, a world war one commander of the air force. cap arnold, the father of the modern air force, were both trained to fly by purdue graduates. the first guy who got involved in flight from purdue was a guy named cliff turpin. he graduated in 1908. his father sent him here from dayton, ohio, paid out-of-state tuition for his son to come here and learn about internal combustion engines. we had great research in mechanical engineering and the internal combustion engines.

by the time cliff turpin left, he said he knew more about the engines than the factory. the plan was to go back to ohio with his father and they would build motorcycles. and they did. they did start a motorcycle company. i read his records in the smithsonian in washington at the air and space museum. he said in the evening near my house, i used to take long walks after dinner. and i would happen to go past a workshop where the wright brothers were working. i got to know them and everything. i don't believe a word of that. cliff turpin, at that time was a , 22-year-old guy who loved internal combustion engines, the smell of oil and grease, he loved the noise. he loved to make engines smaller and more powerful. he knew the wright brothers were working on airplanes in 1908. he made a beeline for their workshop. and when they found out he was a purdue engineer, they hired him. they needed him because they were not -- they needed his

technical experience. cliff turpin helped the wright brothers improve their engine and controls. and then guess what? he wasn't satisfied and wanted to fly. orville wright and wilbur wright taught him how to fly. and he became one of the wright brothers' original exhibition flyers who went around the country demonstrating flight to people. he had to go to his father and say, you know all the money you invested in my education so i could build motorcycles with you? go fly airplanes with the guys down the block. his dad said, ok, i would do the same thing. a short time later, the motorcycle company was bankrupt and cliff was one of the most famous people in the country. these exhibitions made headlines wherever they were. they were a big deal. they demonstrated flights to 200,000 people in chicago or 5000 people at a county fair. they boxed those planes up in crates, transported them by train, took them out, and showed

what people could do. no one would believe it until it themselves. everything i have read about people seeing flight for the first time, they said when the plane left the ground there was absolute silence, then a huge roar when people realized what they were seeing for the first time. finally, cliff turpin got out of flight. he had a terrible accident in seattle. his airplane ended up going into a crowd, a grandstand, propellers spending -- spending. people were killed, he was injured. the next day, his best friend fred was injured. that was about 1915. he never got on an airplane again even though he lived into the space age. from there, we can go on and talk about a man named george haskins, a world war i pilot. he continued in the air force after world war i. he was stationed in dayton. in 1919 he flew an airplane on the purdue campus. landed it right here at purdue. and he came with a petition. waving a petition. it was when the board of

trustees was meeting. it was june. he said i want you to start an aeronautical program at purdue. an aeronautical engineer program. within a couple of years, they started an aeronautical engineering program as part of mechanical engineering. mechanical engineering has been the root of many different fields of engineering. it was one of the first in the country. it was not the first, but it was one of a handful of aeronautical engineering programs. george haskins eventually left the air force, came to purdue, and headed up the program. which was floundering. it had a new person every year. it was not doing well. and so he headed it up. all of the records say that he worked day and night to build that program into one of the greatest programs in the country. when world war ii started he was taken back into the military. he never returned to purdue. but he had built something special here. he had started something special here. after world war ii aeronautical engineering was separated from mechanical engineering and became its own school. it is now one of the best in the country.

one of a handful of the best. george haskins lived a long life. in july of 1969 he was retired in pasadena, california, and he watched this man born in the 1890's, before flight, who was a world war i pilot, watched a man walk on the moon. neil armstrong, who had been through the program he created at purdue. >> i am going to step off the lander. that is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. >> some people like billy mitchell and george haskins airized the importance that travel was going to play not only in warfare, but in transportation in this country. as we go on it continues with , purdue graduates. by 1924, a purdue graduate named

frederick martin, from indiana, was the most experienced pilot in the army air force. he headed up a group of four planes. the plan was to fly around the world. this was three years before lindbergh. they were going to stop every night. they would fly so far, and they would stop. they were able to go through land areas like the aleutians. over to various points. it ended up taking them over 150 days to do this. the whole trip was planned and organized by frederick martin. unfortunately, he was lost in a huge blizzard in alaska and was not able to finish the trip. and in a way, he thought he lost his place in aviation history. but he did not. december 7, 1941, guess who was in charge of all of the air corps in hawaii? frederick martin. and it turns out frederick martin and his counterpart in

bellinger hadd , written a report predicting the japanese attack on pearl harbor to the letter. exactly what was going to happen, what time, what day of the week it would occur. they had it all down. some of the most exciting things started happening in aviation at purdue right before the war and right after. in 1947 -- in 1937, a man came here named george wells. he comes from delaware. he wanted to be a pilot. he doesn't finish at purdue, he is drafted into the army and becomes a pilot. december 7, 1941, he is in hawaii. his plane is at a rural airfield. frankly, he was out all night. he was out all night playing poker and having fun. s came back to his barracks just as the attack started. he got in the car and raced to his airplane, which was portrayed in the movie "pearl harbor." >> what is the navy doing practicing early on a sunday?

♪ >> they look like jets. >> i did not even know the jets -- >> get me to an airplane! >> he got up and was able to shoot down four japanese airplanes that day. it was the most success any pilot had and he became quite the hero. flight is one of the most incredible stories in human history. we went from 1903 to 1969. from kitty hawk to the moon in less than 66 years. that is incredible. purdue and m.i.t. have graduated more astronauts than any other nonmilitary university. and we have gone back and forth with who is first, but purdue and m.i.t. have led among public universities for a while. many of our astronauts learned how to fly at purdue airport. many of our astronauts were in

rotc and learned their flying experience here. neil armstrong came here. he was already a pilot. he learned to fly at 16 years old. but he flew into this airport. if they didn't learn here, they flew into the airport from their homes and business trips. and they -- our astronauts come back frequently. neil armstrong was close to purdue. cern was veryne close to purdue. they come here. they have been through the facilities. they talk to the students. they are pilots. before they were spacemen, they were pilots. they love airplanes and flying. now we are landing perhaps on mars. purdue graduates are very much involved with the missions to mars. >> our cities tour staff recently traveled to learn about indiana's rich history. learn more about the sister cities and other stops at

c-span.org/localcontent. you are chris this month is the 10th anniversary of our program here wednesday it we're featuring an encore program highlighting authors and historians and policyers and leading thinkers. from 2005, kenneth feinberg's interview. the importance of the african-american experience to u.s. history. from 2007, robert novak and his 50 years of reporting in washington. from 2008, higher education in america. from 2009, conservative commentator. q&a on 10:00, compelling conversation. at 7:00 p.m. on c-span.