Benton MacKaye
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Benton MacKaye (1879-1975), American forester, planner, and conservationist. A cofounder of The Wilderness Society, he is best known as the originator of the Appalachian Trail (AT), an idea he presented in his 1921 article, An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. MacKaye (rhymes with eye) went to Harvard (B.A., 1900; M.A. School of Forestry, 1905), and had been on staff with a number of Federal bureaus and agencies, which included the U.S. Forest Service, the Tennessee Valley Authority, the U.S. Department of Labor, etc. He was a son of Steele MacKaye.
MacKaye pioneered the idea of land preservation for recreation and conservation purposes, and was a strong advocate of balancing human needs and those of nature. He coined the term "Geotechnics" to describe his philosophy. MacKaye authored two books, The New Exploration: A Philosophy of Regional Planning and Expedition nine: A Return to a Region. A collection of 13 of his essays was published as From Geography to Geotechnics. He was also a member of the Technical Alliance.
The Benton MacKaye Trail, some portions of which coincide with the Appalachian Trail, is named after him.
[edit] References
- Anderson, Larry, Benton MacKaye: Conservationist, Planner, and Creator of the Appalachian Trail. Johns Hopkins University Press, 2002.
