LSAC Exam LSAT Topic 2 Question 25 Discussion

In 1892 the Sierra Club was formed. In 1908 an area of coastal redwood trees north of SanFrancisco was established as Muir Woods National Monument. In the Sierra Nevadamountains, a walking trail from Yosemite Valley to Mount Whitney was dedicated in1938. It is called John Muir Trail.John Muir was born in 1838 in Scotland. His family name means ''moor,'' which is ameadow full of flowers and animals. John loved nature from the time he was small. Healso liked to climb rocky cliffs and walls.When John was eleven, his family moved to the United States and settled in Wisconsin.John was good with tools and soon became an inventor. He first invented a model of asawmill. Later he invented an alarm clock that would cause the sleeping person to betipped out of bed when the timer sounded.Muir left home at an early age. He took a thousand-mile walk south to the Gulf of Mexicoin 1867and 1868. Then he sailed for San Francisco. The city was too noisy and crowdedfor Muir, so he headed inland for the Sierra Nevadas.When Muir discovered the Yosemite Valley in the Sierra Nevadas, it was as if he hadcome home. He loved the mountains, the wildlife, and the trees. He climbed the mountainsand even climbed trees during thunderstorms in order to get closer to the wind. He putforth the theory in the late 1860's that the Yosemite Valley had been formed through theaction of glaciers. People ridiculed him. Not until 1930 was Muir's theory proven correct.Muir began to write articles about the Yosemite Valley to tell readers about its beauty. Hiswriting also warned people that Yosemite was in danger from timber mining and sheepranching interests. In 1901 Theodore Roosevelt became president of the United States. Hewas interested in conservation. Muir took the president through Yosemite, and Roosevelthelped get legislation passed to create Yosemite National Park in 1906. Although Muirwon many conservation battles, he lost a major one. He fought to save the Hetch Valley,which people wanted to dam in order to provide water for San Francisco. In the late 1913a bill was signed to dam the valley. Muir died in 1914. Some people say losing the fight toprotect the valley killed Muir.