Howard Clinton Zahniser (February 25, 1906 – May 5, 1964) was an American environmental
activist
Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
. For nearly 20 years, he helped lead
The Wilderness Society as executive secretary, executive director, and editor of ''The Living Wilderness'', from 1945 to 1964. Zahniser was the primary author of the
Wilderness Act of 1964.
Early life and education
Zahniser was born in
Franklin, Pennsylvania, and grew up in nearby
Tionesta along the banks of the
Allegheny River
The Allegheny River ( ) is a long headwater stream of the Ohio River in western Pennsylvania and New York (state), New York. The Allegheny River runs from its headwaters just below the middle of Pennsylvania's northern border northwesterly into ...
close to the
Allegheny National Forest. He attended college at
Greenville College in Greenville, Illinois, where he graduated with a B.A. degree in English in 1928.
Career
Zahniser began his career on the staff of the
United States Bureau of Biological Survey
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with o ...
(1930) (now part of the US Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of Interior).
He also became active in private efforts to conserve undeveloped areas. After
The Wilderness Society was founded, Zahniser was hired as executive secretary and later worked as executive director. He served as editor of ''The Living Wilderness,'' from 1945 through 1964.
Echo Park Dam controversy
The
United States Bureau of Reclamation plans for a ten-dam, billion dollar
Colorado River Storage Project began to arouse opposition in the early 1950s when it announced that one of the proposed dams would be at
Echo Park, in the middle of
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur National Monument is an American national monument located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains on the border between Colorado and Utah at the confluence of the Green and Yampa rivers. Although most of the monument area is in ...
. The controversy assumed major proportions, dominating conservation politics for years.
David Brower, executive director of the
Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is an environmental organization with chapters in all 50 United States, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded on May 28, 1892, in San Francisco, California, by Scottish-American preservationist John Muir, who be ...
, and Zahniser representing The Wilderness Society led an unprecedented nationwide campaign to preserve the free-flowing rivers and scenic canyons of the
Green and
Yampa
Yampa is a Colorado municipalities#Statutory town, statutory town in Routt County, Colorado, Routt County, Colorado, United States. The population was 429 at the United States Census, 2010, 2010 census.
City name
is the Ute dialect, Northern U ...
rivers. They worried that damaging a national monument would be a bad precedent for attempts to preserve other wilderness areas.
Powerful members of
Congress and their constituents in western states were committed to the Colorado River Storage Project in order to secure water rights, obtain cheap
hydroelectric power, and develop
reservoirs as tourist destinations for recreation. After much debate, Congress settled on a compromise that eliminated Echo Park Dam and authorized the rest of the project. The Colorado River Storage Project Act became law on April 11, 1956. It stated, "that no dam or reservoir constructed under the authorization of the Act shall be within any National Park or Monument."
Historians view the Echo Park Dam controversy as marking the start of an era that resulted in increased efforts to conserve wilderness areas. National campaigns resulted in such major conservationist political successes as the Wilderness Act of 1964 and the
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Wilderness Act
In his capacity with The Wilderness Society, Zahniser drafted the Wilderness Act in 1956, which was introduced in the United States Congress that same year — in the House of Representatives by Congressman
John P. Saylor
John Phillips Saylor (July 23, 1908 – October 28, 1973) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Houston, Texas in 1973.
Biography
Saylor was ...
of Pennsylvania, and in the Senate by
Hubert Humphrey of Minnesota. Zahniser was the main proponent of the Wilderness Act over the subsequent eight years that it took to pass the legislation, including overseeing numerous rewrites, attending all 18 public hearings on the bill, and personally lobbying virtually every member of Congress in support of the legislation.
Zahniser died of heart failure at age 58 on May 5, 1964, a few months before President
Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law in September of that year.
The Wilderness Act established America's
National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the Na ...
, which today permanently protects more than 111 million acres (450,000 km²) of federal public land for the benefit of future generations of people and wildlife alike. Wilderness areas are designated by act of Congress; under the framework of the Wilderness Act, which Zahniser created, they are identified on existing lands managed by the
United States Forest Service,
National Park Service,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior responsible for administering federal lands. Headquartered in Washington DC, and with oversight over , it governs one eighth of the country's la ...
.
Legacy and honors
Zahniser is buried in Tionesta's Riverside Cemetery; his rough-hewn marker, taken from the surrounding forest, faces his beloved Allegheny River.
*Zahniser's work helped established the National Wilderness Preservation System. More than 100 wilderness bills have been signed into law since 1964. Every United States President since 1964 has signed substantial wilderness legislation to designate such areas for protection.
*On August 13, 2001, the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission dedicated a roadside historical marker, memorializing Zahniser, just north of Tionesta along the Allegheny River near the southern end of the
Allegheny Islands Wilderness.
*It has been noted that due to the enduring gravity and magnanimity of his life's work, "Howard Zahniser deserves higher regard and increased recognition not only in the pantheon of great American conservationists, but in the pantheon of great Americans."
References
*Frome, Michael. 1974. ''Battle for the Wilderness'' (New York: Praeger).
*Harvey, Mark. 2005. ''Wilderness Forever: Howard Zahniser and the Path to the Wilderness Act'' (Seattle: University of Washington Press).
*Scott, Douglas W. 2001. ''A Wilderness Forever Future: A Short History of the National Wilderness Preservation System'' (Washington, DC: Pew Wilderness Research).
*Wild, Peter. 1986. ''Pioneer Conservationists of Eastern America'' (Missoula, MT: Mountain Press Publication Co.).
Notes
External links
Zahniser Institute for Environmental Studies Greenville University
The Wilderness Society official website
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zahniser, Howard
1906 births
1964 deaths
American environmentalists
Greenville College people
United States Fish and Wildlife Service personnel
People from Franklin, Pennsylvania
People from Forest County, Pennsylvania