"The 39th U.S. president led the fight to preserve vast swaths of Alaskan wilderness. It forever changed the state and the National Park Service."
"When Jimmy Carter became an honorary national park ranger in 2016, his supporters had little doubt that the former president deserved the highest civilian award from the National Park Service.
Carter’s aggressive conservation push in the late 1970s resulted in the creation of 39 new park sites.
And with the stroke of a pen on Dec. 1, 1978, he used his executive authority to designate 13 national monuments in Alaska alone, giving federal protection to 56 million acres of new land and more than doubling the amount of land managed by NPS."
Rob Hotakainen reports for E&E News December 30, 2024.
SEE ALSO:
"Jimmy Carter, Visionary" (Inside Climate News)
"Jimmy Carter's Environmental Legacy Set The Foundation For Today's Climate Action" (NPR)
"Jimmy Carter: America’s Greatest Environmental President" (Rolling Stone)
"The Bold Environmental Vision of President Jimmy Carter" (Mother Jones)