Wilderness, like the national park system, was an American idea.

The real story of the settlement of the West was work, not conquest

It gives me satisfaction to help people.

Society as we know it is almost a conspiracy against human health. One of the main forces working to counteract that is the trailsman.

If, in our haste to 'progress,' the economics of ecology are disregarded by citizens and policy makers alike, the result will be an ugly America. We cannot afford an America where expedience tramples upon esthetics and development decisions are made with an eye only on the present.

The national parklands have a major role in providing superlative opportunities for outdoor recreation, but they have other people serving values. They can provide an experience in conservation education for the young people of the country; they can enrich our literary and artistic consciousness; they can help create social values; contribute to our civic consciousness; remind us of our debt to the land of our fathers.

The most common trait of all primitive peoples is a reverence for the life-giving earth.