The Progressive Era:Environmental Reforms:

Conservation & Preservation

Theodore Roosevelt & Conservation

• 1st president to take an active role in the American conservation movement

• Ardent sportsman & naturalist

• Concerned with exploitation of America’s natural resources & remaining wilderness

Theodore Roosevelt

Theodore Roosevelt & Conservation• Had a “romantic regard”

for the wilderness and & west

• Using his executive powers as president, he:– Restricted private

development of millions of acres of underdeveloped land

– Added most underdeveloped land in the west to the National Forest System

– Seized many forests & water sites for conservation purposes

Theodore Roosevelt

Gifford Pinchot• Appointed as the 1st

Chief Forester of the U.S. by President Theodore Roosevelt

• Supported rational & efficient human use of the wilderness

• Believed trained experts in forestry & resource management needed to develop & manage the wilderness & national parks Gifford Pinchot

1st Chief of the Forest Service, 1905-1910

Roosevelt sends federal aid to the West• Teddy Roosevelt’s natural resource

policy won support in Congress• National Reclamation Act (Newlands Act)

– Provided federal funds for the construction of dams, reservoirs, and canals in the West.

– Projects provided cheap source of electric power

– Opened new lands for cultivation– Provided critical aid for irrigation & power

development in western states– Bureau of Reclamation established

• It took about 20 years before positive effects of the Newlands Act took hold

Theodore Roosevelt & Preservation

• Believed in protecting natural beauty of the land & health of its wildlife from human intrusion

• Championed the expansion of the National Forest System as a means to protect forests from excess lumbering

Antiquities Act of 1906

• Roosevelt proclaimed 18 national monuments.

• It also established:– 5 national parks– 51 wildlife refuges – 150 national forests

Theodore Roosevelt

Expansion of the National Park System

• Purpose of the National Park System:– To protect the land

from exploitation or development

Federal Lands & Indian Reservations in the United

States

National Parks in the United States & its Territories

The National Park ServiceNational Parks Created by the T. Roosevelt

Administration

Yellowstone National ParkYellowstone, Wyoming

Sequoia National ParkCalifornia

Yosemite National ParkCalifornia

Mount Rainer National ParkWashington State

The National Park ServiceNational Parks Created by the T. Roosevelt Administration

Chicksaw National Recreation Area

Oklahoma (Formerly Platte National Park)

Crater Lake National ParkOregon

Mesa Verde National ParkMesa Verde, Colorado

Wind Cave National ParkSouth Dakota

Yosemite National Park

Mirror Lake, Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park

Sequoia National Park

Sequoia National Park

Mesa Verde National Park

Theodore Roosevelt & John Muir• 1903—Muir & Roosevelt

spent 9 days in the Sierras at Yosemite National Park– Both forged a bond formed

mutual respect for one another

• Muir convinced Roosevelt to expand national parks & forests as well as increase the acreage of Yosemite National Park

• Though an all, Roosevelt, who was in favor of economic development, not always a reliable ally of Muir (i.e. The Hetch Hetchy Controversy)

Theodore Roosevelt (left) & John Muir (right) at Yosemite

National Park

The Sierra Club• 1892 - Sierra Club

founded on May 28 with 182 charter members.

• John Muir elected first President.

• In its first conservation campaign, Club leads effort to defeat a proposed reduction in the boundaries of Yosemite National Park (Hetch Hetchy Dam Project).

John MuirFounder of the Sierra

Club

The Sierra Club

Mission Statement1.Explore, enjoy and protect

the wild places of the earth.2.Practice and promote the

responsible use of the earth's ecosystems and resources.

3.Educate and enlist humanity to protect and restore the quality of the natural and human environment.

4.Use all lawful means to carry out these objectives.

The Hetch Hetchy Controversey

• Hetch Hetchy Valley located in Yosemite National Park

• Hetch Hetchy—local Indian term meaning “grassy meadows”

• High-walled valley popular with naturalists, such as the Sierra Club

Hetch Hetchy Valley

The Hetch Hetchy Controversey

• Issue: Water Shortage in San Francisco– Residents worried about finding enough

water to serve growing population– They saw Hetch Hetchy as an ideal place

for a dam—which would create an a large reservoir for the city

– Muir, Sierra Club, & the naturalists oppose the plan to build a dam & reservoir

The Hetch Hetchy Controversy• 1906—San Francisco suffered

devastating earthquake & fire– Widespread sympathy for the city

strengthened case for building the dam• Teddy Roosevelt sympathized with San

Francisco– Originally opposed the plan, but later

decided that building a dam was a practical solution to the water shortage & would benefit society as a whole

– Turned decision over to Gifford Pinchot, who ordered the dam’s construction

The Hetch Hetchy Controversy• John Muir staunchly opposed the

construction of the Hetch Hetchy Dam• In 1908—the construction of the dam was

brought to a public vote (referendum)– Muir hoped the public would oppose the plan

• However, residents of San Francisco overwhelmingly approved construction of the dam– Defeat helped mobilize a new coalition of

people committed to the preservation of wilderness lands and made it clear that casual exploitation of natural wonders would no longer be opposed

The Hetch Hetchy Dam & Reservoir

Hetch Hetchy Dam

Reviewing Environmental Reforms

• Why were environmental reforms, conservation & preservation, important to the American people during the Progressive Era?

• In your opinion, were environmental reforms during the Progressive Era a success or failure? Explain your answer.

• What was impact did Environmental Reforms during the Progressive Era have on future generations?

The Legacy of Theodore Roosevelt’s Conservation &

Preservation Efforts• The North Dakota badlands provides the scenic backdrop to the park which memorializes the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our nation's resources.

• The area was first established as a Memorial Park in 1947.

• It gained National Park status in 1978.

• The Little Missouri River has shaped this 70,448-acre park which is home to a variety of plants and animals.