Newton B. Drury
Encyclopedia
Newton Bishop Drury was the fourth director of the American National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...

 and the executive director of the Save-the-Redwoods League
Save-the-Redwoods League
The Save the Redwoods League is an organization dedicated to the protection of the remaining Coast Redwood trees in the state of California. It was founded in 1918 by Frederick Russell Burnham, Madison Grant, John C. Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn....

.

Early life and career

Newton was born in 1889 in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...

. He attended the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

 and graduated in 1912. He served in the U.S. Army Balloon Corps in WWI. The destruction that he witnessed motivated him strongly towards conservation.

In 1919, he and his brother Aubrey formed the Drury Brothers Company, an advertising and public relations agency. That same year, the organizers of the Save-the-Redwoods League
Save-the-Redwoods League
The Save the Redwoods League is an organization dedicated to the protection of the remaining Coast Redwood trees in the state of California. It was founded in 1918 by Frederick Russell Burnham, Madison Grant, John C. Merriam, and Henry Fairfield Osborn....

, many of whom knew Drury from the university, asked Drury Brothers to manage the League. Newton Drury became executive secretary in charge of publicity and fund raising, a position he held for twenty years. Drury and the league obtained a six-million dollar bond measure passed to buy California redwood groves.

National Park Service

Drury declined appointment as NPS Director in 1933, but accepted the job in 1940. He was the first director without prior national park responsibilities, but came with strong conservationist credentials, having served as executive secretary of the Save-the-Redwoods League in California. During World War II he successfully resisted most demands for consumptive uses of park resources. Less eager than his predecessors to expand the park system, he opposed NPS involvement with areas he judged not to meet national park standards. Differences with Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman
Oscar L. Chapman
Oscar Littleton Chapman was the United States Secretary of the Interior during thelast three years of the Truman administration....

 over Chapman's support for dams in Dinosaur National Monument contributed to Drury's resignation in 1951.

Subsequent to his resignation from the park service Drury accepted the position as head of the California Division of Beaches and Parks. He was instrumental in changing some of the operational policies of the state park system to that similar to the national park system. In particular he dropped the recreational emphasis in summer proramming to that of interpretation with a natural history emphasis.

He received a Pugsley Medal
Pugsley Medal
The Pugsley Medal was created by Cornelius Amory Pugsley in 1928. The award honors champions of parks and conservation. Until 1952 there was a gold, silver, and bronze award, and in 1953 it was switched to national, state, and local.-Pugsley Medal winners:...

 twice, a silver medal in 1940 and a gold medal in 1950. He was board chairman of the Save-the-Redwoods League at his death.

Death and legacy

Drury died in December 1978.

The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is the 9 miles (14.5 km) long two lane road through Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park
Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park is a state park, located in Humboldt County, California, near the town of Orick and 50 miles north of Eureka...

 in Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County, California
Humboldt County is a county in the U.S. state of California, located on the far North Coast 200 miles north of San Francisco. According to 2010 Census Data, the county’s population was 134,623...

, which was completed in 1993. The Parkway was named to honor Mr. Drury's efforts in the creation of Redwood National and State Parks
Redwood National and State Parks
The Redwood National and State Parks are located in the United States, along the coast of northern California. Comprising Redwood National Park and California's Del Norte Coast, Jedediah Smith, and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks , the combined RNSP contain...

. As a result of CalTrans move of US Route 101 outside the eastern edge of the park, Old Growth Redwoods within the park will not ever be removed to widen the road. This road, though shorter, is similar in quality to the Avenue of the Giants in Southern Humboldt County.
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