John Muir vs. Gifford Pinchot

Have you ever heard of John Muir and Gifford Pinchot? These two men expressed different beliefs over preservation and conservation. John Muir was America’s most famous conservationist. While Gifford Pinchot was one of America’s leading preservationist. Both of these men spent most of their lifetime defending the natural resources and the wildlife around the world. John Muir is one of California’s most important historical personalities. Born in Scotland, he has been called “The Father of our National Parks,” “Wilderness Profit,” and “Citizen of the Universe.” As a wilderness explorer, his exciting adventures in the Sierra Nevada and Alaska’s glaciers led him searching for nature’s beauty. Gifford Pinchot was born to a wealthy family on August 11, 1865, at his family’s summer home in Connecticut. His family was upper-class merchants, politicians, and land owners. His father asked him what he thought about being a forester because not a single American had made forestry a profession. Pinchot had no idea what a forester was other than being in the woods. Since he liked everything about the woods he decided in favor of forestry. He studied at Yale and then furthered his education by attending a French forestry school where he learned the value of selective rather than unrestrained harvesting of forests. John Muir devoted his life to safeguarding the world’s landscapes. He was the founder of the Sierra Club and a major influence on conservation in the U.S. After an eye injury, he decided to turn his eyes to fields and woods. He walked from Wisconsin to the Gulf of Mexico, then sailed the Caribbean and the West Coast of North America, landing in San Francisco. He began writing about the western wilderness which attracted the attention of famous men of the time. He published many articles and 10 books about his travels. This led to an act of Congress that created Yosemite National Park. He strongly believed in preserving the natural land and taught people the