Carrying the torch for the next 50 years of conservation
A tribute to the life and contributions of former Interior Secretary Stewart L. Udall
For many, the name “Udall” is synonymous with the West, or perhaps more specifically, with conservation in the West. It’s fair to say that much of the Western United States as we know it today was shaped by the foresight and leadership of Stewart Udall.
Stewart Udall served as a Congressman representing southern Arizona, and later as Interior Secretary during the Kennedy & Johnson administrations from 1961–1969. Having grown up in the West, he understood the need to protect wild places and wild animal species, and to ensure safeguards for clean air and clean water. Many of the policies and programs he championed more than 50 years ago are still in place today, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts, and the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966.
“Plans to protect air and water, wilderness and wildlife are in fact plans to protect man.”
One of the qualities that sets Stewart Udall apart was his sense of fairness and justice, supported by a belief that humans and nature are not separate, but intricately intertwined. One can see the application of this moral framework in Stewart’s successful efforts to create the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), in which a percentage of royalties from offshore oil and gas drilling is directed toward land conservation and urban parks. The LWCF is one of the most successful conservation programs of all time, evidenced by the fact that since its inception in 1965, funds from the program have supported projects in every county in the United States.
Stewart also believed in equality of opportunity. As a law student at the University of Arizona after World War II, Stewart, along with his brother Morris Udall (who represented Arizona in the U.S. Congress for thirty years), integrated the cafeteria by inviting an African American student to dine with them. In a similar instance as Interior Secretary, Stewart warned the owner of the Washington Redskins that the team must be integrated along with all other NFL teams or risk losing their stadium in Washington, D.C. that was located on federal land. Stewart and his brother continued their advocacy for conservation and social justice through the creation of the Morris K. Udall and Stewart L. Udall Foundation. One of the central activities of the foundation is an internship program that places Native American youth in offices across Capitol Hill and the Executive Branch in Washington, D.C. The impact of this important program continues on with the leadership of New Mexico Senator Tom Udall, Stewart’s son.
Tom Udall is carrying the torch for conservation through his work in the United States Senate, most recently by introducing a resolution to protect 30% of American lands and waters by 2030. The resolution is an urgent call to action that is part of the Senator’s broader conservation strategy to protect public lands and wildlife. As a respected member of the Senate, Tom Udall is an effective voice for defending our nation’s environmental laws, including speaking out against recent efforts to dismantle the National Environmental Policy Act. It’s clear that, like his father, Tom Udall understands the urgency of protecting our lands and waters as well as the need to set the stage for the next 50 years of conservation in this country, starting with proactive and collaborative legislation to meet the challenges facing our public lands and environment.
“Each generation has its own rendezvous with the land, for despite our fee titles and claims of ownership, we are all brief tenants on this planet. By choice, or by default, we will carve out a land legacy for our heirs.”
Anyone who has worked in government, policy, or advocacy has an understanding of just how difficult it can be to make things happen, let alone to create lasting change. It is truly remarkable that many of the programs initiated by Stewart Udall have their origin at the dawn of the modern environmental movement in the early 1960s and are still around today. Thanks to the diligent efforts of Tom Udall to protect and defend our nation’s public lands and bedrock environmental laws protecting our air, water and wildlife, there is reason to hope that when we look back on the 2020s we will see it as a decade in which our leaders stepped up to meet the most pressing challenges of our time, including the dual threats of the climate and nature crises that are affecting our communities everyday.
Stewart Udall would have been 100 years old on January 31st, 2020 (he passed away peacefully at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico in the spring of 2010). During his long life, he was a champion for the environment, for conservation, and for the rights of Native Americans. He became a man of actions and letters, having authored several books. His voice and example will continue to guide those who care about the future of the American West, and his legacy will continue to benefit present and future generations through the steadfast leadership of his son, Tom.
There will be a celebration at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C. on February 7, 2020 (RSVP here) to honor the life and legacy of Stewart Udall as one of our nation’s all-time champions for conservation, as well as emphasize the urgency of setting the course for the next 100 years of American conservation efforts. Honored speakers include: Bruce Babbitt, former Interior Secretary and former Arizona Governor; Sally Jewell, former Interior Secretary and Interim CEO of The Nature Conservancy; New Mexico Senator Tom Udall; Kendall Edmo, Blackfeet Nation Office of Historic Preservation; Dr. Enric Sala, Explorer-in-Residence, National Geographic Society.
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