This Land is Your Land (Part II)

Photo: Stewart Udall, Secretary of the Interior 1962-1969 (under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson), father of Tom Udall, Senator for New Mexico, and uncle to Mark Udall, Senator for Colorado.

TODAY I ACTUALLY SANG "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND" WITH A LARGE GROUP OF PEOPLE! My blog posting from last week came true.


Photo: Old Ebbitt Grill

Today was what I like to call "A Very D.C. Day." It started out at the famous Old Ebbitt Grill near the White House for breakfast. Yes, Dad, I do remember when you took me there when I was 11.

Then, I headed to the Department of Interior to celebrate the life and legacy of Stewart Udall, the Secretary of the Interior during the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, whose legacy for conservation influences most of the conservation community's work today.


Photo: Stewart Udall and President Kennedy

Today at the ceremony they re-named the Interior building after Stewart Udall. I enjoyed the speeches from President Johnson's daughter, Douglas Brinkley (whose book about TDR I'm reading right now - Wilderness Warrior), Tom Udall (son and NM Senator), Mark Udall (nephew and CO Senator), Rep. Grijalva (D-AZ) and others.

Photo: Robert Frost and Stewart Udall

They read Robert Frost poems, told stories about Udall's work, and ended by singing "THIS LAND IS YOUR LAND."

I spent another part of the day learning about upcoming tax law changes, but I'll keep this post about the inspirational Udall.


Among his accomplishments, Udall oversaw the addition of four national parks, six national monuments, eight national seashores and lakeshores, nine national recreation areas, 20 national historic sites, and 56 national wildlife refuges, including Redwood National Park in California and the Appalachian National Scenic Trail stretching from Georgia to Maine. He also played a key role in the Clear Air Act, Clean Water Restoration Act, Wilderness Act, Endangered Species Act and more.


Soon after becoming the Secretary of Interior, Udall told the Washington Redskins owner that he had to integrate the football team as every other franchise in the NFL had already done, or risk being evicted from the Washington, D.C., stadium, which was federally owned.

An inspirational man. Learn more here.