Newton Bishop Drury (April 9, 1889 – December 14, 1978) was the fourth director of the American
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...
and the executive director of the
Save the Redwoods League
Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...
.
Early life
Newton was born in 1889 in
San Francisco, California
San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...
.
He attended
Lowell High School, as well as the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California) is a public land-grant research university in Berkeley, California. Established in 1868 as the University of California, it is the state's first land-grant u ...
, where he graduated in 1912. He served in the U.S. Army Balloon Corps in World War I. The destruction that he witnessed motivated him strongly towards conservation.
[Newton Drury]
". Pugsley Award website. Retrieved on June 14, 2010.
Career
In 1919, he and his brother Aubrey formed the Drury Brothers Company, an advertising and public relations agency. That same year, the organizers of the
Save the Redwoods League
Save the Redwoods League is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens'') and giant sequoia (''Sequoiadendron giganteum'') trees through the preemptive purchase of development rights ...
, many of whom knew Drury from the university, asked Drury Brothers to manage the League. Newton Drury became executive secretary in charge of publicity and fund raising, a position he held for twenty years. Drury and the league obtained a six-million dollar bond measure passed to buy California redwood groves.
National Park Service
Drury declined appointment as NPS Director in 1933, but accepted the job in 1940. He was the first director without prior national park responsibilities, but came with strong conservationist credentials, having served as executive secretary of the Save the Redwoods League in California. During World War II he successfully resisted most demands for consumptive uses of park resources. Less eager than his predecessors to expand the park system, he opposed NPS involvement with areas he judged not to meet national park standards. Differences with Secretary of the Interior
Oscar L. Chapman
Oscar Littleton Chapman (October 22, 1896 – February 8, 1978) was the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, during President Truman's administration, from 1949 to 1953.
Early life and career
Chapman was born in Omega, Halifax County, Virgin ...
over Chapman's support for dams in Dinosaur National Monument contributed to Drury's resignation in 1951.
After his resignation from the park service Drury accepted the position as head of the California Division of Beaches and Parks. He was instrumental in changing some of the operational policies of the state park system to that similar to the national park system. In particular he dropped the recreational emphasis in summer programming to that of interpretation with a natural history emphasis.
Death
Drury died in December 1978.
He received a
Pugsley Medal
The Pugsley Medal was created by Cornelius Amory Pugsley in 1928. The award honors champions of parks and conservation.
Responsibility for selecting the recipients has shifted from the American Scenic and Historic Preservation Society to the Na ...
twice, a silver medal in 1940 and a gold medal in 1950. He was board chairman of the Save the Redwoods League at his death.
Legacy
The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is the long two-lane road through
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka. The 14,000 acre (57 km²) park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwo ...
in
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County () is a county located in the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 136,463. The county seat is Eureka.
Humboldt County comprises the Eureka–Arcata–Fortuna, California Micropolitan Statistica ...
, named to honor his efforts in the creation of
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks (RNSP) are a complex of one national park and three state parks, cooperatively managed, located in the United States along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park (established 1968 ...
. This road had formerly been the route of
US Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
. Though shorter in distance, it is similar in quality to the
Avenue of the Giants
The Avenue of the Giants is a scenic highway in northern California, United States, running through Humboldt Redwoods State Park. It is named after the coastal redwoods that tower over the route. The road is a former alignment of U.S. Route 101, ...
in Southern Humboldt County. As a result of constructing a new route, completed in 1993, for
US Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
outside the eastern edge of the park, main traffic along
US Route 101
U.S. Route 101, or U.S. Highway 101 (US 101), is a north–south United States Numbered Highway that runs through the states of California, Oregon, and Washington, on the West Coast of the United States. It is also known as (The Royal Roa ...
is diverted from going through
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles (80 km) north of Eureka. The 14,000 acre (57 km²) park is a coastal sanctuary for old-growth Coast Redwo ...
, and old growth redwoods within the park will not ever be required to be removed to widen the road. Drury Peak
in the
Mount San Jacinto State Park
Mount San Jacinto State Park is in the San Jacinto Mountains, of the Peninsular Ranges system, in Riverside County, California, United States. A majority of the park is within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument. The par ...
,
Riverside County, California
Riverside County is a County (United States), county located in the southern California, southern portion of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 2,418,185, making it the fourth-most ...
, is named after him as well.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Drury, Newton B.
Directors of the National Park Service
1889 births
1978 deaths