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Sierra Club Bulletin 



The parks are needed as nature made them^ — not despoiled by cattle and 

 sheep. 



The strength of a nation lies in the mental attitude of the people. And 

 the right mental attitude is very largely acquired by wholesome recre- 

 ation in the outdoor world — especially in places of scenic beauty. Such 

 places as national parks help us to maintain our strength and courage 

 and to gain a clearer vision of the problems and the emergencies of life. 

 The English people admit that they made a serious mistake in the early 

 stages of the war by neglecting outdoor recreation. 



Early last summer there was some doubt in the minds of the people 

 as to whether or not the national parks would be open on account of the 

 war. Secretary Franklin K. Lane emphatically announced that they 

 would be open as usual, and said : "It is even more important now than 

 in times of peace that the health and vitality of the nation's citizenship 

 be conserved. Rest and recreation must materially assist in this con- 

 servation of human tissue and energy, and the national parks offer op- 

 portunity for just this thing." During this same summer, the busy war 

 year of 1917, five hundred thousand people found much-needed rest and 

 were inspired to greater patriotism by visiting these wonderlands. 



It would be a national calamity if the warring enemy could destroy 

 the natural beauty of the United States. Grazing cattle and sheep in 

 our national parks is a distinct step in this direction. The grazing of 

 national parks discourages outdoor recreation. If livestock are in these 

 parks there are thousands of people who would not go to them. And 

 there are other thousands of people who, because of the presence of 

 livestock, would naturally conclude that these natural wonderlands could 

 be of no great merit for people if they were used for cattle and sheep. 

 Our national parks — the world's unrivaled wonderlands — are the great- 

 est places for outdoor recreation. Grazing in national parks would be 

 the death blow to their supreme use. This would weaken us as a na- 

 tion. You might let your senators and congressmen know that you 

 value national parks. These men are so occupied with war matters these 

 days that it may not occur to them that there is even a possibility of an 

 invasion of this kind. Let them know that you are eager to defend our 

 public playgrounds. Mrs. John D. Sherman 



Opening of Zion Canon — Utah's Scenic Wonderland 



Nearly two generations have passed since the Mormon pioneers trekked 

 southward along the west base of the Wasatch Mountains and made 

 their first settlement in Southern Utah. Following up the waterway of 

 the Rio Virgin in the location of their settlements, these pioneers passed 

 eastward over the rim of the great "Hurricane" Fault, that has since 

 been termed by geologists the greatest known break in the earth's sur- 

 face, and, making their way to the upper reaches of the stream, came to 

 the point where the Rio Virgin was formed by the conflux of two creeks 



