Stewart Udall - A Favorite Son

You’ve likely read the many remembrances of Stewart Udall, conservationist, former secretary of the interior, and the last surviving member of President Kennedy’s cabinet. Udall died March 20^th in Santa Fe, New Mexico at the age of 90.

For many westerners, Stewart Udall earned elevated status as a favorite “son” who did well by and for the West. As Interior Secretary in both the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations, Udall played a significant role in the preservation of 3.85 million acres of public lands, which included the creation of 50 new national wildlife refuges, eight national seashores and four national parks—Canyonlands in Utah, North Cascades in Washington, Redwood in California and Guadalupe Mountains in Texas—not to mention 20 historic sites, including the now famous cultural hub, Carnegie Hall.

But the legacy doesn’t end there. The Udall family has a storied reputation as public servants and leaders in the American West. Stewart’s brother Morris Udall served as a Congressman for 30 years. His son Tom became a Senator for New Mexico in 2008, and his nephew Mark is currently a Senator for Colorado. You can read some of Senator Mark Udall’s comments about his uncle in this article.

In the Times obit, you’ll learn that Stewart Udall hosted poets (Carl Sandburg), actors (Hal Holbrook) and writers (Wallace Stegner), among others for “evenings at the Interior.” Those events seem, to me, in the spirit Guillermo Gomez-Pena’s recommendation that communities invite elected officials to arts and cultural events (per Bill Roper’s blog post from March 15^th), but without Guillermo’s punitive tone. Udall’s “evenings” also strike me as a recognition by Secretary Udall that issues are best served by applying a variety of disciplines and a diversity of thought.

Here’s another revealing piece about Secretary Udall, an Op-Ed by Dave Lindorff, who tells about his cross-country trip in 1968 and how playing music for cash (‘panhandling’ according to a ranger) in Yosemite National Park earned him a $500 fine. At wits end and out of money, Lindorff wrote a letter to the Secretary of the Interior explaining the situation. “I had been entertaining people, not harassing them for money. I did not think it was fair for the government to be fining someone $500 who was just trying to make a few bucks to get by.” Udall’s hand-written note in reply: “You’re right. Forget the fine.”

Lindorff’s closing, in particular, honors Udall’s legacy: “a public servant who never felt he was so important that he didn’t have to pay attention to the ordinary citizen—even one who had broken the law.”

It may sound naïve, but here’s hoping today’s and tomorrow’s leaders will also honor Secretary Udall’s legacy by acting as true public servants rather than officials.