It’s been my custom on Earth Day to remember John Muir—his life, his teachings, his eloquent words. In past years I’ve hiked trails to scenic points and read excerpts from his books while taking in the view. One spring in Juneau I hiked a trail to a cabin named for Muir, lit a candle and curled up with Muir’s Adventures in Alaska. My way of paying tribute to a courageous and inspirational spirit
This Earth Day, 2010, I wish to pay tribute to another man I admire—Stewart Udall, who passed away at ninety this last winter. His passion for preserving our precious wild places and his devotion to public service are seen in the remarkable deeds accomplished throughout his life.
Mr. Udall stands alongside great people in our country’s history of environmental protection. John Muir, Henry Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, Rachel Carson, Sig Olson, Howard Zahniser. My list of heros. My mentors. Just as with Thoreau, Muir and others, Mr. Udall’s spirit will live on through his words and legacy to inspire future leaders in environmental preservation.
Stewart Udall made his life count for principles, especially the respect he and his family shared for the land, the arts, and justice that are now embedded in the nation’s culture and economy and way of life. It’s not much of a leap to note that the work he executed during his life, like the wild land he preserved in national parks and refuges, will endure for as long as this nation endures. ~ President Obama
Drawn to public service Mr. Udall served three terms in the House of Representatives prior to President Kennedy’s selecting him for Secretary of the Interior. He had far reaching vision and the ability, as Bruce Babbitt stated, to rekindle a national commitment to conservation and environmental preservation.
As a devoted steward of wild lands Stewart Udall left an awesome legacy enhancing and improving the quality of our lives. The first federal bicycle paths and jogging trails. Protection of the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Ellis Island National Monument. Assateague Island National Seashore where hundreds of wild horses roam. The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act. Water Quality Act. Myriad national parks, national monuments; dozens of wildlife refuges, historic sites and recreation areas. I am especially grateful for his assistance in passing the Wilderness Act, Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and the Endangered Species Act.
Mr. Udall’s service to the American people continued after leaving the Department of the Interior. His strong beliefs, his steadfast values and his passion reached beyond environmental protection to include social justice. Mr. Udall tirelessly defended families of Navajo men who suffered lung cancer from working in uranium mines. In 1978, he began a long and frustrating legal fight defending people who lived downwind from nuclear testing sites in Nevada. The unsuccessful lawsuits left him disheartened and discouraged yet Mr. Udall regained momentum to help draft the 1990 Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, that included a formal apology and a commitment to compensate thousands of Americans harmed by atomic bomb testing.
He was a real hero for his tireless fight for justice for the many Navajo and other tribal members who were contaminated by uranium mill tailings, said LaDonna Harris of the Americans for Indian Opportunity. To the end, Stewart Udall was just as committed to social justice and environmental protection as he was as a young man…We are lucky he inspired a new generation of Udalls to follow in his very large footsteps.
In Quiet Crisis, one of his several books, came a warning of the dangers of pollutiion and threats to America's natural resources, calling for a nationwide land conscience to take a close and hard look at the effects of our actions on the land. In The Myths of August he talked about the long-term environmental and health effects of nuclear weapons.
Like John Muir, Mr. Udall never lost his enthusiasm for being outdoors. As Secretary of the Interior he was known to lead 50-mile hikes. And at 84, along with his grandson, Stewart Udall hiked up from the floor of the Grand Canyon to the South Rim. No easy feat. At any age. Having hiked the Grand Canyon myself, down and up, I can attest to the stamina and endurance required.
Beyond his accomplishments as Secretary of the Interior, Mr. Udall shared his passion, vision and wisdom over an entire lifetime as author, lecturer, scholar, environmental activist, lawyer, outdoor enthusiast.
It was in an interview with Bob Edwards on NPR a couple years ago that I last heard Mr. Udall speak. So moved by this interview and recalling his many deeds, I wrote Mr. Udall a letter thanking him for his refreshing, insipring and insightful words. You remind me of what a great nation can accomplish with the right people. You remind me of what true and great statesmanship means...It was during your time as Secretary of the Interior with the passage of the Wilderness Act as well as the myriad national seashores, refuges and other conservation legislation that I felt hope and trust in the continuation of a code of stewardship and a land ethic that future generations would recognize as a monumental triumph. For only when we as a society protect air quality, water quality, natural shorelines, natural reserves, wilderness can we say to our children and our grandchildren that we believe in them and their future... Mr. Udall graciously answered with a hand-written note that I cherish.
In the twilight of their lives and with the beginning of the new millennium, Stewart and his wife, Lee penned a letter to their and all grandchildren calling them future to be bold and carry on. A letter of advice and hope as well as the need for the hard work ahead. They ended the letter with:
To sustain life on our small planet, we will need a wider, all-encompassing planetary resource ethic based on values implemented by mutual cooperation. This ethic must be rooted in the most intrinsic values of all: Caring, sharing, and mutual efforts that reach beyond all obstacles and boundaries.