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Charles Young spent the summer of 1903 as Acting Superintendent Sequoia National Park. The experience made a lasting impression on Young, whose strong advocacy for park preservation was evident in his final official report. Young wrote: "The trees of the park consist of pines and cedars and firs in general and of the giant redwoods or sequoias in particular, all of which are well worth protecting...it is believed by many that even without the grandeur of the Giant Forest, which is matchless anywhere else in the world, there are enough beautiful mountain views, delightful camping sites, and water courses stocked with fish to constitute a national park where the overworked and weary citizens of the country can find rest, coolness, and quiet for a few weeks during the hot summer months, and where both large and small game can have a refuge and be allowed to increase. "Indeed a journey through this park and the Sierra Forest Reserve to Mount Whitney country will convince even the least thoughtful man of the needfulness of preserving these mountains just as they are, with their clothing of trees, shrubs, rocks, and vines, and of their importance to the valleys below as reservoirs for the storage of water for agricultural and domestic purposes. 'In this, then, lies the necessity of forest preservation. 'The United States should learn its lesson in time…making roads and clearings only where absolutely necessary in order to preserve, if possible, the undergrowth as a shelter and protection for the snow, allowing its gradual melting, thus preventing floods and undue evaporation, followed by drought in the valleys." Sequoia National Park was well served by Captain Charles Young's Administration. |
Last updated: February 28, 2015