Research Catalog

Title

Preserving the living past : John C. Merriam's legacy in the state and national parks / Stephen R. Mark.

Author

Mark, Stephen R.

Publication

Berkeley : University of California Press, [2005], ©2005.

Items in the Library & Off-site

Holdings

Details

Description

xv, 204 pages : illustrations, maps; 24 cm

Summary

"An environmental visionary who played a key role in California's early conservation movement, John C. Merriam (1869-1945) saw more to preserving nature than just protecting scenery. Merriam was a pioneering paleontologist who brought perspectives from his career in science to his role as a conservationist, envisioning parks as prime venues where contact with the wilderness might give visitors greater insight into the often hidden meanings of geological time. From his efforts to protect California's wild lands - including the state's majestic redwoods and its dynamic coastline - to his novel ideas about the educational and inspirational value of wilderness, which continue to inspire debates to this day, Merriam occupies a truly distinctive place in the American conservation movement."--BOOK JACKET.

Subject

• Merriam, John C. 1869-1945
• Fossils > West (U.S.)
• National parks and reserves > West (U.S.)
• Paleontologists > United States > Biography
• Conservationists > United States > Biography

Bibliography (note)

• Includes bibliographical references (p. 169-195) and index.

Contents

Introduction : beyond scenic voyeurism -- 1. Why save the redwoods? -- 2. To Berkeley and beyond -- 3. Paleontologist of the Far West -- 4. An upward trajectory -- 5. Redwoods and research -- 6. Interpreting the national parks -- 7. A voice for wilderness -- 8. Building state parks -- 9. What nature means.

ISBN

0520241673 (alk. paper)

LCCN

2004008786

OCLC

• ocm54989132
• SCSB-5166527

Owning Institutions

Columbia University Libraries