Letter from John Muir to Members of Congress, 1908 Jan 12.

PREVENT THE DESTRUCTION OF THE YOSEMITE PARKTo the Members of Congress:A question of national importance has arisen upon which everyone should be informed before it is too late. Our great national parks, Nature\u27s wonderlands, reserved as places of rest and recreation for everybody,are now in danger of being destroyed.Year after year attacks have been made on the famous Yosemite National Park under the guise of development of natural resources.Right now, the most determined attack of all is being made by the City of San Francisco,which is trying to get possession of one of its grandest features, the Hetch-Hetchy Valley,as a reservoir site for a water supply.This would eventually mean the exclusion of the people from one half of the entire park and the destruction of many of its most wonderful features.In 1903 Secretary Hitchcock denied this application, but the present Secretary of the Interior has been persuaded to grant this destructive privilege under certain restrictions.Realizing that the grant is revocable at the pleasure of any future Secretary,a bill has been introduced in Congress and its advocates are trying with desperate haste to get the grant confirmed before the country at large knows anything about it.In behalf of all who appreciate the grandeur and majesty of our great mountain parks and who believe that they should be preserved in pure wildness, I urge you to oppose this unnecessary and destructive water scheme.Faithfully yours,January 12, 1908.John Muir0457