WASHINGTON
- November 6 - David Brower was the greatest environmentalist and conservationist of the
20th Century. He was an indefatigable champion of every worthwhile effort to
protect the environment over the last seven decades. His death is a
tremendous loss.
The monuments to his work dot the landscape of the nation's environmental
movement. He founded Friends of the Earth along with the League of
Conservation Voters and initiated the founding of Friends of the Earth
organizations throughout the world.
Much of his work was devoted to wild lands and Brower was in the forefront
in helping to develop national parks and seashores in King Canyon, the North
Cascades, the Redwoods, Great Basin, Alaska, Cape Cod, Fire Island and Point
Reyes. He led the way in protecting primeval forest in Olympic National
Park and wilderness on San Gorgonio.
His courage and dedication must be given great credit in keeping dams out of
Dinosaur National Monument, the Yukon and the Grand Canyon and in
establishing the National Wilderness Preservation System. The list of his
accomplishments fill chapters in the history of the world's environmental
movements. Future generations will be the major beneficiaries of his
willingness to take up the tough battles for the preservation of the earth.
The environmental movement has lost a champion, and I have lost a dear and
valued friend.
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