-
America's First National Park: Yellowstone
"AN ACT to set apart a certain tract of land lying near the headwaters of the Yellowstone River as a public park. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, the park .... is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people. " -Signed by Ulysses S.. Grant, President. -
First Arbor Day
April 10, 1872: The First Arbor Day "Wednesday, the tenth day of April, 1872, be and the same is hereby especially set apart and consecrated for the planting of trees in the State of Nebraska and the State Board of Agriculture hereby name it Arbor Day; and to urge upon the people of the State the vital importance of tree planting .... ." -J. Sterling Morton, member of Nebraska Board of Agriculture. The picture displays school children celebrating Arbor Day in 1908. -
Sierra Club founded by John Muir
"The battle we have fought, and are still fighting, for the forests is a part of the eternal conflict between right and wrong, and we cannot expect to see the end of it. I trust, however that our Club will not weary in this forest well-doing. The fight for the Yosemite Park and other forest parks and reserves is by no means over; nor would the fighting cease, however much the boundaries were contracted. Every good thing, great and small, needs defense." -John Muir, Sierra Club Meeting 1896
