Roosevelt and Conservation
Conservation, including reclamation, may have been Roosevelt's most enduring tangible achievement. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized the president to set aside public forests as national parks and other reserves. Huntsman, naturalist, rancher, lover of the great outdoors, he was appalled by the pillaging of timber and mineral resources. In this picture stands Theodore Roosevelt and naturalist John Muir, as they visit Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park. The preservationists lost a major battle in 1913 when the federal government allowed the city of San Francisco to build a dam for its municipal water supply in the spectacular, high-walled Hetch Hetchy Valley in Yosemite. Yosemite is still a very great place to visit to take in the true beauties of the outdoor world. It's no wonder why Roosevelt made it into a national park.