In the Footsteps of Lewis and Clark: Early Commemorations and the Origins of the National Historic Trail

5: The National Commission

129 P ublic opinion had begun to swing in favor of preserving wilderness and cleaning up parklands by the time John F. Kennedy became president. A new vision of “wilderness” as something human beings would define and manage took hold as a basis for national government policy. Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall’s push for legislation to preserve natural places and roadless areas resulted in the 1964 Wilderness Act, which established a new set of rules for wilderness. The act stands as a landmark for preservation, but the struggle over which lands should be set aside for that purpose continued . The Wilderness Act was followed by a stricter Water Quality Act and Lady Bird Johnson’s Highway Beautification bill in 1965. The Johnson administration also turned its attention to establishing recreational hiking trails and expanding the number of historical sites to be preserved. “Environmentalism,” writes historian Walter Nugent, The National Commission C h a p t e r F i v e 130 T he N ati o nal C o m m issi o n “frequently appealed to the same people who supported historic preservation, and the aging of those born from the 1920s through the baby boom provided a more affluent and nostalgic demographic base.” The focus in western communities in the 1960s began to shift from “slash-and-burn renewal” to preservation of historic sites.1 The Missouri River portion of the Lewis and Clark trail, at least, brought together initiatives affecting clean water and wildlife preservation , demands for additional outdoor public recreation, and historical interpretation.2 In May 1961 conservationist and celebrated political cartoonist J. N. “Ding” Darling proposed that the Missouri River be incorporated into “a national outdoor recreation and natural resources ribbon along the historic trail of Lewis and Clark.” Gravely ill, Darling knew he would not live to see such a project carried out. However, he secured banker and fellow conservationist Sherry Fisher’s promise to initiate a campaign for the proposal. Darling, who had helped found the National Wildlife Federation, was famous for his syndicated editorial cartoons for the Des Moines Register promoting wildlife sanctuaries and opposing dam construction, particularly on his beloved Missouri River. Following his friend’s death in February 1962, Fisher helped form the J. N. “Ding” Darling Foundation, which he steered toward the creation of a Lewis and Clark trail zone that would also provide habitat for wildlife. Encouraged by Udall, representatives of the foundation, federal agencies, and the states through which the Lewis and Clark trail passed met in Portland, Oregon, in the fall of 1962 to discuss the Darling proposal.3 In 1963 the U.S. Congress approved a trail plan in principle, and the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation began to study development along a ten-mile corridor for inclusion in a proposed nationwide system of scenic trails. On August 7, 1964, legislation that would create a national commission to conduct hearings on the Lewis and Clark trail was introduced in the House of Representatives by John Kyl and Ben F. Jensen of Iowa; shortly thereafter, Iowa senator Jack R. Miller introduced a similar bill in the U.S. Senate. The bills moved through committee very quickly, and H.R. 12289 was soon passed by both houses of Congress. On October 6, 1964, President Lyndon Johnson signed Public Law 88-630 authorizing creation of a Lewis and Clark Trail Commission to promote public understanding of the expedition’s 131 T he N ati o nal C o m m issi o n historical significance and review proposals for developing “desirable long-term conservation objectives” and recreation opportunities along its length. The commission was also authorized to advise government agencies on selecting and marking a “suitable connecting network of roads” along the route.4 Of the twenty-seven members, ten represented the states of Missouri, Kansas, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, and Oregon (in 1966 a member from Illinois was added). Four were congressmen and four were senators, five represented cabinet departments, and four were appointed by the Darling Foundation.5 Sherry Fisher chaired the commission during its five-year existence. It met several times a year in various cities along the trail, including St. Louis, Bismarck, Billings, and Portland. Thus began an institutionalizing of the route the Corps of Discovery took between 1804 and 1806. The Lewis and Clark Trail Commission’s mandate drew on several streams of reform...