In this provocative walking meditation, writer and former park ranger William Tweed takes us to California’s spectacular High Sierra to discover a new vision for our national parks as they approach their 100th anniversary. Tweed, who worked among the Sierra Nevada’s big peaks and big trees for more than thirty years, has now hiked more than 200 miles along California’s John Muir Trail in a personal search for answers: How do we address the climate change we are seeing even now―in melting glaciers in Glacier National Park, changing rainy seasons on Mt Rainer, and more fire in the West’s iconic parks. Should we intervene where we can to preserve biodiversity? Should the parks merely become ecosystem museums that exhibit famous landscapes and species? Asking how we can make these magnificent parks relevant for the next generation, Tweed, through his journey, ultimately shows why we must do just that.

Uncertain Path: A Search for the Future of National Parks

History

Tweed, William C.

Americas

University of California Press

This is the realm of the giant sequoias, the largest living things on earth, the magnet that caused these two national parks to be set aside a century ago. From sequoia botany to the geology, history, and wildlife of both parks, this book covers it all.

Sequoia and Kings Canyon: The Story Behind the Scenery

Travel

Travel Writing

Kc Pubns

Sequoia-Kings Canyon (The Story behind the scenery)

KC Publications

Book by Tweed, William C., Davis, Lauren

Death Valley and the Northern Mojave: A Visitor's Guide

Davis, Lauren

United States

Cachuma Pr

From a towering tree, one of California's preeminent naturalists unspools a history that echoes across generations and continents. Former park ranger William C. Tweed takes readers on a tour of the Big Trees in a narrative that travels deep into the Sierras, around the West, and all the way to New Zealand; and in doing so he explores the American public's evolving relationship with sequoias. It comes as no surprise that the groves in Yosemite and Calaveras were early tourist destinations, as this species that predated Christ and loomed over all the world's other trees was the embodiment of California's superlative, almost unbelievable appeal. When sequoias were threatened by logging interests, the feelings of horror that this desecration evoked in people catalyzed protection efforts; in a very direct way, this species inspired the Park Idea. And sequoias' influence doesn't end there: as science evolved to consider landscapes more holistically, sequoias were once again at the heart of this attitudinal shift. Featuring an entrancing cast of adventurers, researchers, politicians, and environmentalists, King Sequoia reveals how one tree species has transformed Americans' connection to the natural world.

King Sequoia: The Tree That Inspired a Nation, Created Our National Park System, and Changed the Way We Think about Nature

Heyday

Book by Dilsaver, Lary, Tweed, William

Challenge of the Big Trees: A Resource History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

Dilsaver, Lary M.

Univ of Arizona Pr

Beginning in 1872 with the establishment of Yellowstone, national parks were set aside to preserve for future generations the most spectacular and inspirational features of the country. The best representative examples were sought out of major ecosystems, such as Yosemite, geologic forms, such as the Grand Canyon, archaeological sites, such as Mesa Verde, and scenes of human events, such as Gettysburg. But one type of habitat―the desert―was overlooked until travel writers and the Automobile Age began to change Americans’ perceptions about desert landscapes.
As the National Park Service began to explore the better-known Mojave and Colorado Deserts of southern California during the 1920s for a possible desert park, many agency leaders still held the same negative image of arid lands shared by many Americans―that they are hostile environments and largely useless. But one wealthy woman―Minerva Hamilton Hoyt, from Pasadena―came forward, believing in the value of the desert, and convinced President Franklin D. Roosevelt to establish a national monument that would protect the unique and iconic Joshua trees and other desert flora and fauna. Thus was Joshua Tree National Monument officially established in 1936, and when the area later was expanded in 1994, it became Joshua Tree National Park. Since 1936 the National Park Service and a growing cadre of environmentalists and recreationalists have fought to block ongoing proposals from miners, ranchers, private landowners, and real estate developers who historically have refused to accept the idea that desert might be suitable for anything other than their consumptive activities. Joshua Tree National Park, even with its often-conflicting land uses, is more popular today than ever, serving more than one million visitors per year who find the desert to be a place worthy of respect and preservation.
Distributed for George Thompson Publishing

Challenge of the Big Trees: The Updated History of Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks

George F. Thompson Publishing

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Books by Tweed, William C.