Edgar Wayburn, Wilderness Advocate, Born (1906)

One of the joys of writing this calendar is shining a light on people and events that have lived more in the shadows than in the spotlight.  Today is the birthday of one such man, called by those who knew him the “20 Century John Muir.”  He is Dr. Edgar Wayburn.

Wayburn was born on September 17, 1906 (died at age 103 in 2010) in Georgia.  His genial Georgian accent and nature served him well throughout his life.  He graduated from the University of Georgia at age 19 and the Harvard Medical School at age 23.  He practiced (and taught) medicine for 50 years.

As a boy, he took summer trips annually to San Francisco to visit an uncle.  After finishing medical school and a four-year Army tour in Europe during World War II, he moved to there permanently.  Two observations determined Wayburn’s avocation for the rest of his life.  First, he observed the rapid development of the country after the war and despaired that nature was being pushed beyond the experience of most people.  Second, he marveled that Marin County, just north of San Francisco and dominated by scenic hills and valleys, had not yet been developed.  He later said, “It seemed incredible to me that there were no cities or suburbs built on those Marin hills so close to San Francisco.  I wondered how long that miracle would last.”

Wayburn determined that he would make it last.  He had joined the Sierra Club in 1939 so he could take a burro excursion, and he never left.  He served on the executive board for 34 years and was president five terms during the 1960s.  Wayburn helped convert a California outing club to a national and global conservation powerhouse.  He spent a lifetime in quiet, behind-the-scenes advocacy for preserving wild lands.  He wrote letters, raised money, participated in public meetings, submitted comments on government proposals and lobbied elected officials.

He was effective without marches, protests or media campaigns.  Pat Joseph, writing for the Sierra club, called Wayburn “a born facilitator and diplomat, someone who exuded the kind of authority and integrity that gets people—even powerful people—to listen.  Rogers Morton, Secretary of Interior under Richard Nixon and not overly enthusiastic about locking up lands, told a congressional hearing about a park’s borders that “The Park Service wants me to support their plan, but I went out there to the site with my friend Dr. Wayburn, and he convinced me otherwise.”