April 21st: John Muir

On April 21st, our nation celebrates the birthday of a renowned naturalist, John Muir. Without his love and intimate relationship with nature, and the paths he had forged to preserve wildlife, America would not have such a notable conservation policy.

Written by Charlene Lee, NJBF Newswriter

John Muir did not have an affluent childhood. He was born in Dunbar, Scotland in 1838. At the age of 11, Muir moved to Portage, Wisconsin. His father was very strict and did not allow him much free time. John’s day was mostly dedicated to a strict regiment of chores around the farm. Only during the hours of dawn did Muir spend time reading and inventing. When his father did allow, Muir and his siblings explored the forests of the Wisconsin frontier. John Muir felt trapped by his monotonous life on the farm, and thought that by studying vigorously, he could get a decent education and leave the farm. John spent many years learning algebra, trigonometry, and geometry. Whenever he had time, he would tinker with his inventions. One year, a friend of Muir’s introduced him to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Fair. John attended with his homemade inventions and surprised everyone by earning high honors for his machines. Through this link, Muir was accepted into the University of Wisconsin, where he majored in science and medicine.

After three years, John escaped the Civil war draft and moved to Canada to work as a mechanic. After the factory burned down, he moved to Indianapolis. John was temporarily blinded in 1867. After his accident, John realized the importance and beauty of nature. He thus walked from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico, and then sailed to the Caribbean and West Coast of North America. He landed in San Francisco in 1868. There, Muir walked across San Joaquin Valley to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Instantly, John Muir fell in love.

Upon returning home, Muir married Louisa Wanda Strentzel and had two daughters: Wanda and Helen. Together, they ran a family fruit business. Periodically Muir would return to his much-loved Sierra Mountains to write about the importance of preservation. He felt that all life forms had innate significance and rights to exist. Muir deemed nature as “fragile” and people as “destructors”. He believed that humans exaggerated their own importance and belittled the existance and beauty of wildlife. The key to admiring nature, Muir claimed, was to preserve it. Look, but not touch. He wrote “Studies in the Sierra”, a series of articles describing and acclaiming the mountains.

In 1892, John Muir established the Sierra Club. He said it was, “Something to make the mountains glad.” Up until today, the organization still stands. Its goal still mimics the hopes of Muir: to enjoy and protect wildlife, practice and promote responsible use of earth’s systems, and spread awareness to improve the interaction between human and nature. In total, Muir published 300 articles and 10 major books. President Teddy Roosevelt, due to the influence of Muir, set aside 148 million acres of forests, 20 regions of protected wildlife, 16 national monuments, and 5 new national parks. It is because of Muir’s contributions that we have the Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks, Mt. Rainier, the Petrified Forests, and the Grand Canyon.

Reborn into the arms of nature, sadly, John Muir’s candle was also diminished because of his love for wildlife. He had many battles with the government to improve America’s conservation policy, but the one for the Hetch Hetchy Valley of Yellowstone was by far the most dramatic. Congress wanted to dam the Tuolumne River and flood the Hetch Hetchy Valley to feed drinking water into San Francisco. Muir and the Sierra Club recognized this as a mistake and tried desperately to stop the erection of the dam. Unfortunately, Congress passed the bill in 1913. After this loss, Muir’s health began to deteriorate. He died shortly after at the age of 76, on Christmas Eve, 1914, in Los Angeles, California.

In 1983, The John Muir Trust was established. This international philanthropic organization lends a hand to wildlife in need. The goal of JMT is to preserve wild lands against devastation and promote awareness re wildlife. They recently own over 25,000 hectares of wild land, and have partnerships in 50,000 hectares more. JMT is strongly linked with the Sierra Club: they’re both stemmed from John Muir, and have equivalent aspirations.

John Muir has left us with strongly etched message and legacy. Through his actions and writings, it can be concluded that nature is something we should be a part of. We are neither in charge of nor dictators of wildlife; we are equal. Nature is beautiful; within are layers of unique characteristics that cannot be seen by a cursory glance. It is only with patience and deep connections can people truly understand its majestic stature. Combined, human and nature can be serene and invincible. Segregated, there can only be destruction.

Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where Nature may heal and cheer and give strength to body and soul. -John Muir