Stewart Udall
(1920-2010)

American Politician, Secretary of the Interior
Environmental Advocate
1967 Audubon Medal
1999 Nuclear-Free Future Lifetime Achievement Award
2005 National Conservation Achievement Award

birthdate: January 31
birthplace: St. Johns, Arizona

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Stewart Udall was a pioneer of the environmental movement, working within the system to bring about change. He served as US Congressman for 3 terms before being appointed as Secretary of the Interior under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon Johnson. Under his leadership, the Department of the Interior greatly expanded national conservation of public lands, including establishing 56 national wildlife refugees and four national parks. He played a vital role in securing major environmental and conservation legislation, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, the Land and Water Conservation Fund of 1965, the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966, the Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 and the National Trail System Act of 1968. While serving as Secretary of the Interior, he wrote a best-selling book, The Quiet Crisis, about the dire state of the environment - the threat of pollution and the loss of natural resources and open spaces. This 1963 book helped to raise national environmental consciousness, and along with Rachel Carson's 1962 book, Silent Spring, inspired the birth of the environmental movement.