Stewart Udall with Board and Staff of NCSF

Stewart Udall with the Board and Staff of the Conservation Lands Foundation- Durango, CO

In 2008, Foundation staff were lucky enough to sit down with Stewart Udall and discuss the National Conservation Lands.  The following is a video from his home in Santa Fe, NM.  Click Here to View

In November of 2009, Stewart Udall attended the Foundation’s Friends Rendezvous in Santa Fe, NM.  Richard Moe presented Stewart with a leadership award on behalf of all those who work to protect and promote the National Conservation Lands.  We thank Stewart Udall for his vision and leadership.  He will be dearly missed by the Board and Staff.
PRESENTATION OF LEADERSHIP AWARD TO STEWART UDALL

Presented by Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Foundation Board Member

2nd Annual Friends Rendezvous  Santa Fe, N.M.

7 November 2009

There was a time – not too long ago – when the federal government’s role in, and commitment to, conservation and historic preservation was not particularly strong or effective. This evening we honor a man whose vision, dedication, eloquence and persistence changed all that.

In 1963, Stewart Udall wrote a groundbreaking book titled The Quiet Crisis. Drawing on his love of history and his deep affection for the sweeping landscapes of the American Southwest that was his home, he wrote movingly about responsible human interaction with natural beauty. He showed us the things that matter and are worth saving, and he made the case for legislation that would protect them.

The Quiet Crisis helped crystallize public concern over the loss of wild areas and undeveloped landscapes – but that wasn’t enough. After writing about what needed to be done, Stewart rolled up his sleeves and did it.

He was a great Secretary of the Interior – maybe even the greatest of them all. Serving under presidents Kennedy and Johnson, he played a leadership role in the enactment of an amazing array of legislation to protect America’s natural, historic and cultural resources – legislation that includes the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality and Clean Water Restoration Acts and Amendments, the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Endangered Species Preservation Act, the Land and Water Conservation Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the National Trail System Act, and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

And if that isn’t impressive enough, consider this: During his term as Secretary of the Interior, he helped establish 4 National Parks, 6 National Monuments, 9 National Recreation Areas, 9 National Lakeshores and Seashores, and 56 National Wildlife Refuges.

But there’s still more. Working closely with George Hartzog, director of the National Park Service, Secretary Udall led a visionary effort to put some muscle behind the federal government’s commitment to historic preservation and give grassroots leaders the tools they needed to keep older buildings and neighborhoods from being smashed to rubble. He played a crucial role in the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and then oversaw the creation of a successful federal-state partnership that institutionalized the law’s provisions. The programs he helped shape – including the National Register, the Advisory Council, the nationwide network of state historic preservation offices, and the Historic Preservation Fund – made the federal government a partner in saving our heritage, and built the framework that supports almost every aspect of historic preservation today.

More recently, using his skills as an advocate and his great eloquence as a speaker and writer, Stewart helped create the favorable climate of public opinion that allowed for the establishment of the National Landscape Conservation System. This great collection includes landscapes that allow us to see America through the eyes of its original inhabitants. It includes tangible reminders of thousands of years of human interaction with the land, ranging from the ruins of Native American pueblos to the remnants of mineshafts and farmsteads left by those who sought to make a living out of the rock and soil of the frontier. These places open windows to the past, offering a glimpse – often the only glimpse available to us – of the people who were here before us, the land they found here and the lives they lived on it. As Secretary of the Interior, Stewart was directly responsible for protecting many of them – and as a tireless advocate, he has worked to ensure that they are passed on, intact and alive, to us and our children.

I could go on – but here’s the bottom line: More than forty years after he served as Secretary of the Interior, Stewart Udall’s vision is still shaping a brighter future for this nation.

On behalf of the board of the National Conservation System Foundation, I am proud to present the Conservation System Leadership Award to Stewart Udall.