Susan Priscilla Parks (''née'' Thew, 5 April 1878 – 29 January 1968) was an American explorer, photographer, plant collector and advocate for the expansion of the

Sequoia National Park Sequoia National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada (U.S.), Sierra Nevada east of Visalia, California. The park was established on September 25, 1890, and toda ...

in the southern

Sierra Nevada The Sierra Nevada ( ) is a mountain range in the Western United States, between the Central Valley of California and the Great Basin. The vast majority of the range lies in the state of California, although the Carson Range spur lies primari ...

Early life

Parks was born in

Caledonia, Ohio Caledonia is a village in Marion County, Ohio, United States. The population was 560 at the 2020 census. History The village was named after Caledonia, an ancient name for Scotland, the ancestral home of a large share of the first settlers. Th ...

on 5 April 1878 to Sarah Priscilla and Richard Thew. Her father was an inventor and an industrialist. The family subsequently moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

Advocacy for the expansion of Sequoia National Park

In 1918 Parks made her first visit to the Sequoia National Park. She subsequently became acquainted with the superintendent of the park, John R. White and the efforts being made to advocate for the enlargement of the park. Parks became a vocal advocate supporting these efforts. In August 1923, Parks began to explore the High Sierras and photographed as much of the land as she could. She continued to undertake explorations of the High Sierras over subsequent summers and amassed a significant photographic record of the area. Parks then used these photographs to produce a gazetteer entitled ''The proposed Roosevelt-Sequoia national park''. Parks distributed this publication to

members of Congress A member of congress (MOC), also known as a congressman or congresswoman, is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The t ...

to generate support for the 1926 bill proposing the expansion of the Sequoia National Park. As a result of this and efforts by other advocates, the bill was successfully passed and the Sequoia National Park expanded to cover the

Great Western Divide The Great Western Divide is a Sierra Nevada mountain range located largely in Sequoia National Park. Some of the summits of the Great Western Divide reach well over . The High Sierra Trail crosses the range at Kaweah Gap from Sequoia National Pa ...

, the

Kaweah Peaks Kaweah Peaks Ridge is a spur of the Great Western Divide, a sub-range of California's Sierra Nevada. The ridge is located in Sequoia National Park and is composed of mostly rugged and loose metamorphic rock. Named mountains There are sever ...

, the

Kern Canyon The Kern River Canyon is a canyon in Kern County, California. It is located in the Southern Sierra Nevada. The canyon was formed by the Kern River and connects the Kern River Valley and southern San Joaquin Valley.Lee, Charles. ''An Intensive St ...

, and the

Sierra Crest The Sierra Crest is a roughly generally north-to-south ridge, ridgeline that demarcates the broad west and narrow east slopes of the Sierra Nevada and that extends as far east as the Sierra's escarpment, topographic front (e.g., Diamond Mountain ...

. The Sequoia National Park tripled in size. The success of Parks' advocacy methods inspired

Ansel Adams Ansel Easton Adams (February 20, 1902 – April 22, 1984) was an American landscape photographer and environmentalist known for his Monochrome photography, black-and-white images of the American West. He helped found Group f/64, an association ...

to replicate them. He went on to use her methods to advocate for in the creation of

Kings Canyon National Park Kings Canyon National Park is a national park of the United States in the southern Sierra Nevada, in Fresno and Tulare Counties, California. Originally established in 1890 as General Grant National Park, the park was greatly expanded and ren ...

. Parks became a member of the

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

Plant collecting

In October 1927 Parks married her husband Harold Ernest Parks, a botanist and botanical collector. After her marriage, Parks partnered with her husband, undertaking botanical field trips and collecting numerous botanical specimens. They amassed a significant and scientifically important collection of herbarium specimens that continues to contribute to science.

References

External links

Radio interview with Dana Dierkes, Public Affairs Specialist for Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Parks, about Susan Thew Parks
{{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Susan Thew 1878 births 1968 deaths American women botanists American botanists Plant collectors Botanists active in North America