When Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Grant in 1864 — setting aside the Yosemite Valley and Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias — he did so to preserve these lands for “public use, resort, and recreation.”

He likely said little about conservation in performing that act, but the gesture laid the groundwork for a national ethic of preservation. Theodore Roosevelt, who vastly expanded the National Park System, said it well: “The nation behaves well if it treats the natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased, and not impaired, in value.”

Fifty-five years ago, President Richard Nixon signed into law the National Environmental Policy Act and established the Environmental Protection Agency. At the time, he framed the challenge ahead with clarity and conviction: “The great question of the Seventies is ... shall we make our peace with........

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