Muir, John (1838–1914)

John Muir is considered to be one of the founding figures of the American conservation movement, which evolved into what we now know as envi-ronmentalism. Muir was born in Scotland but was raised in Wisconsin in a home governed by a very strict Christian father. Muir attended university in Wisconsin, where he took some classes that spurred his interest in nature. Instead of graduating, Muir undertook a walk to the American South. After this walk, he moved to California.

Muir eventually settled in the area of Yosemite. His experiences there inspired and confirmed his tendency to supplement traditional Christian religion with a spiritual view of nature. Viewing Yosemite, he saw nature as a temple. He undertook various jobs in the area, all the while nurturing his interest in the geological origins of the spectacular formations that surrounded him. At the same time, he became concerned about the despoliation being caused by livestock and tourists. Muir's view was that such mercenary pursuits were a blight on one of God's holiest creations.

Muir became an avid mountaineer. During his expeditions, he began to speculate that Yosemite's features were the result of glacial action, which was not in accord with the dominant theories of his day. However, his speculations did start to receive some notice from the scientific community. Muir is best known for his writings describing and defending the preservation of natural environments and for helping to form the Sierra Club.

Muir was well educated and was influenced by the transcendentalist literary movement, which sought understanding through intuition, often seeing in nature the inscription of God's intent. But Muir's literary efforts were formed just as much by his own hands—based on his own experience with nature. He traveled not only in the mountains of California but also in Alaska. He began supplementing his income by writing articles about his trips; these were published in Eastern newspapers or literary monthlies. These articles began to draw some attention, and he gained some minor recognition from them. The American print media audience of the time was interested in stories of the New West, and Muir's florid yet fluent writing style suited the popular taste.

His most important activity was to draw attention to the cause of setting aside Yosemite as a national park. Robert Underwood Johnson, publisher of The Century Magazine, persuaded Muir to write two articles proposing Yosemite as a national park, modeled on the example of Yellowstone. These articles appeared in the magazine in the fall of 1890. Political opposition from economic interests eventually disappeared, and the bill to create the park was passed. Later, Muir would attempt to preserve the nearby Hetch Hetchy Valley, which was desired as a water source for San Francisco. Although Muir had hosted President Theodore Roosevelt on a camping trip in Yosemite, he was unable to persuade later governments, and the valley was eventually taken. Muir died not long after this fight was lost.

Muir's other notable achievement, the founding of the Sierra Club, used the Appalachian Mountain Club, an association of moutaineering enthusiasts, as a model. Muir was elected the Sierra Club's first president. The organization has grown to become one of the preeminent environmental protection groups in the United States.

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