William Edward Colby

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William Edward Colby (May 28 1875 — November 9 1964) was an American lawyer, conservationist, and first Secretary of the Sierra Club.

1 Early life and education
2 Colby and the Sierra Club
3 References
- 3.1 General references
- 3.2 Specific references
4 External links

[edit] Early life and education

William Colby was born in Benicia, California, and was brought up by his aunt after being orphaned at the age of six. He received his law degree from Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco, and his legal practice specialized in forestry and mining issues.

[edit] Colby and the Sierra Club

Colby joined the Sierra Club in 1898, the year of his graduation from law school. He served for a time as the club's representative in the Yosemite Valley area. In 1900 he became the club's secretary, and served (bar two years) in that post until 1946. He also served as a director of the club for 49 years.

Colby was a pioneer in the Sierra Club's outing program, and led his "high trips" to the Yosemite area from 1901 until 1929. Colby joined Sierra Club founder John Muir in lobbying the US Federal authorities to protect the Yosemite Valley by the creation of the Yosemite National Park.^[1]

In 1905, when the city of San Francisco lobbied Congress to allow it to dam the Hetch Hetchy Valley to provide the growing city with water, Muir and Colby were leaders of the campaign to prevent the damming of the Tuolumne River and the flooding of the valley. Colby called the valley "the indispensable entrance and exit to the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne, next to the Canyon of the Colorado, the most wonderful gorge in America." ^[2].

In 1927, when the California Legislature established the State Park Commission, Colby was its first Secretary^[3].

Colby wrote the introduction for Muir's book Studies in the Sierra

Colby's other campaigns led to the expansion of the Sequoia National Park and the creation of Olympic National Park and the Kings Canyon National Park.

In 1960 he was the first winner of the Sierra Club John Muir Award. He was a trustee of the Sierra Club Foundation from 1960 until his death.

Colby died at home in Big Sur, California on 9 November 1964. In 1965 the Sierra Club rededicated the readling room and library in its San Francisco headquarters as the William E. Colby Memorial Library ^[4]. The Sierra Club annually awards the William E. Colby Award to those it feels have given great service to the environment.