A Road Is A Dagger Placed in The Heart of A Wilderness

Stand with history, add your name to the long list of Roadless Rule supporters

“A road is a dagger placed in the heart of wilderness.”

-Justice William O. Douglas

In 1954, Justice William O. Douglas made history as he hosted a protest hike through 184.5 miles of the Chesapeake & Ohio (C&O) Canal.

When the National Park System announced their intentions to turn the historic canal into a parkway, Justice Douglas balked at the idea. The canal and its surrounding landscape were close to his home and to his heart, and he knew a road running through it would irrevocably alter its health. So when the Washington Post printed an op-ed endorsing the plan, Justice Douglas spoke up.

He invited Post editors and a number of high-profile conservationists to join him on a hike through the entire park, starting in Georgetown. The highly publicized hike started out with 58 participants, and though they didn’t all finish, they were all deeply moved by the experience.

Ultimately, the Post editors changed their view. Justice Douglas lobbied decision-makers in the Department of the Interior to abandon the parkway plan, and then he formed a committee, which he chaired, that actively made plans to care for and conserve the canal.

After years of advocacy, the canal became a national monument, and then a national park with over 20,000 acres of land. Today, the NPS says it is the “only park walked into existence,” and it hosts millions of visitors each year.

The 1954 hike wasn’t just a catalyst for C&O Canal National Park, it sparked an era of Douglas’s impassioned advocacy for the land. In his time on the court, he became a spokesperson for the conservation effort. He advocated for Alaska’s statehood and its protected land status. He stood up for Red River Gorge, and was instrumental in its protection from an Army Corps of Engineers plan to dam it.

In court, he argued for an environmental bill of rights that would speak to the need for clean air, water, and land. He asserted that elements of the environment, like trees and rivers, should be able to stand as defendants in legal cases, just like corporations do. And he consistently backed opinions that favored protection of the environment.

Today, we have the opportunity to stand against roads invading our beloved natural places. With just hours before the comment submission deadline for the Roadless Rule (we have more than 203,000 so far!), let’s take stock of where we are, what this fight means, and the opportunity we have to make a real difference in our world.

And if you haven’t yet, leave your comment now! (link here)

With love and hope for the future,

Stephanie

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