Benton MacKaye
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Benton MacKaye (March 6, 1879 - 1975) was an American forester, planner and conservationist. Born in Stamford, Connecticut, MacKaye's father was Steele MacKaye, an actor and dramatist. Despite his upbringing in the theatre, Benton MacKaye went to Harvard University to study forestry (B.A., 1900; M.A. School of Forestry, 1905) and later taught there for several years. He joined a number of Federal bureaus and agencies, including the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Department of Labor, and the Technical Alliance.
MacKaye helped pioneer the idea of land preservation for recreation and conservation purposes, and was a strong advocate of balancing human needs and those of nature; he coined the term "Geotechnics" to describe this philosophy. MacKaye authored two books, The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning and Expedition nine: A Return to a Region. A collection of 13 of his essays was published as From Geography to Geotechnics. A co-founder of The Wilderness Society, he is best known as the originator of the Appalachian Trail (AT), an idea he presented in his 1921 article, An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. The Benton MacKaye Trail, some portions of which coincide with the Appalachian Trail, is named after him.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Benton MacKaye (the name rhymes with "high") was born in Stamford, Connecticut on March 6, 1879 to actor and dramatist (James) Steele MacKaye and his wife Mary.[1] He was the sixth child and last son born to the couple.[2] Because of his father's career in the theatre, the family lived mostly in New York City, but they took to visiting Shirley Center, Massachusetts in the late 1880s.[3]
[edit] References
[edit] Bibliography
- Anderson, Larry. 2002. Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Planner, and Creator of the Appalachian Trail. Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 0801877911.
- Luxenberg, Larry. 1994. Walking the Appalachian Trail. Mechanicsburg, PA Stackpole Books. ISBN 9780585268330.
- Nash, Roderick. 1987. Wilderness and the American Mind. New Haven, Conn: Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300029109.
- Rubin, Robert A (ed). July 2000. "Trail Years: A History of the Appalachian Trail Conference". Appalachian Trailway News.
- Sutter, Paul. October 1999. "Retreat from Profit": Colonization, the Appalachian Trail, and the social roots of Benton MacKaye's wilderness advocacy". Environmental History.
- Sutter, Paul. 2002. Driven Wild: How the Fight against Automobiles Launched the Modern Wilderness Movement. Seattle: University of Washington press. ISBN 0295982195.
