CONSERVING THE BEAUTY OF NATURE 



The government of the United States 

 has begun to use effectively its constitu- 

 tional powers for improving the environ- 

 ment of the people by conserving broad 

 scenes of extraordinary natural beauty 

 and single beautiful or striking objects 

 which, without the protection afforded 

 them by government, might be lost to 

 future generations. The national parks 

 are reserved by act of Congress ; the 

 President, by executive order, may and 

 does order the preservation of smaller 

 areas or single objects under the title of 

 national monuments. State legislatures 

 have begun to provide State reservations, 

 and have authorized municipalities, or 

 special districts, to acquire both large and 

 small parks. Chartered bodies of trus- 

 tees have been authorized by State legis- 

 latures to acquire and hold considerable 

 areas for perpetual public use. 



the; plan for a national monument 



AT mount DLSLRT 



On the beautiful island of Mount Des- 

 ert, not far from the northeastern ex- 

 tremity of the Atlantic coast of the 

 United States, there is at this moment 

 opportunity for establishing a national 

 monument of unique interest and large 

 serviceableness. The island is the loftiest 

 piece of land on the Atlantic coast of the 

 United States, and has a sharply differ- 

 entiated surface of hills and valleys, a 

 climate midway between that of the neigh- 

 boring lands and that of the surrounding 

 sea, abundant water, and in favorable 

 spots a highly productive soil, well suited 

 for growing a wide variety of trees, flow- 

 ering shrubs, and herbaceous plants be- 

 longing to the temperate and subarctic 

 regions of the world. 



Private initiative and enterprise have 

 long since demonstrated the peculiar fit- 

 ness of the Mount Desert climate and 

 soils for horticultural and arboricultural 

 uses, and leading botanists and garden 

 experts have testified to the remarkable 

 thriftiness of plants grown upon the is- 

 land, as well as to the unusual beauty and 

 rich coloring of their blooms. 



A body of trustees, called the "Han- 

 cock County Trustees of Public Reserva- 

 tions," has already acquired the wooded 

 slopes and rocky summits of many of the 

 principal hills, and holds them for per- 

 petual public enjoyment. Possession, too, 

 has been secured by public-spirited pri- 

 vate persons of considerable areas excep- 

 tionally fitted for the growth and exhi- 

 bition of all varieties of trees, shrubs, and 

 herbaceous plants which the landscape 

 architect might use in developing all 

 across the continent, in northern climates, 

 parks and gardens for the enjoyment of 

 city populations. Here, too, all the bird- 

 food plants could be appropriately culti- 

 vated and bird sanctuaries provided. The 

 cultivated tracts would have a noble back- 

 ground of rocky cliffs and lofty hills, and 

 down the valleys and gorges visitors 

 would look out from time to time over 

 the near bays or the distant ocean. Here, 

 in short, could be brought together under 

 highly favorable conditions and in great 

 variety the botanical and zoological ma- 

 terials of the landscape and garden de- 

 signer. 



If the government of the United States 

 should set aside as a national monument 

 a large area on this picturesque and 

 unique island, it would help to consecrate 

 for all time to the improvement of the 

 human environment one of the most 

 beautiful and interesting regions in the 

 whole country ; and in so doing it would 

 take appropriate part in resisting and 

 overcoming the destructive influences on 

 modern civilization of urban life and the 

 factory system. 



The powers of the national govern- 

 ment have thus far been exerted to these 

 conservation ends chiefly in the Ear West, 

 where population is sparse and the evils 

 of city life and the factory system are 

 little developed. Is it not just and highly 

 expedient that these beneficent powers 

 should now be exerted in the East, where 

 manufacturing industries occupy the ma- 

 jor part of the population and the de- 

 structive effects of city life have long 

 been manifest? 



