Merced Sun-Star
WASHINGTON -- California's two Democratic senators want to rename a prominent Sierra Nevada peak after David Brower, reigniting debate over the legacy of the late Sierra Club leader.
Beloved in some circles, despised in others, Brower shaped the national environmental movement for several volatile decades.
He also relished climbing glacial peaks like North Palisade, which at 14,242 feet is the fourth-tallest in California.
Brower, who died in Berkeley eight years ago, was long associated with efforts to protect Yosemite National Park and other California wilderness areas. He was an avid mountain climber who bagged many Sierra peaks, sometimes with the simplest equipment -- sneakers, for instance.
"Naming the North Palisade Peak after David Brower is a fitting tribute to a man who loved the High Sierra and all of America's wilderness," Sen. Barbara Boxer said in a written statement.
Boxer joined her colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, in introducing the legislation this week that would convert North Palisade into Brower Palisade. The mountain abuts Kings Canyon National Park in easternmost Fresno County.
"David Brower was a true champion for the environment," Feinstein stated, adding that renaming the peak "will be a lasting reminder of (his) leadership and lasting contributions to the environmental community." Feinstein and Boxer began crafting the bill after being contacted in May by state Attorney General Jerry Brown, who in turn had been urged to make the name change by a group calling itself the Committee for Brower Palisade.
Among the skeptics is the congressman whose district includes the proposed Brower Palisade. Rep. Devin Nunes, R-Visalia, was unenthusiastic when he learned of the senators' bill.
"I probably wouldn't support something like that. ... I would prefer it not to be in my district," Nunes said.
"The radical environmentalists' agenda is hurting my constituents." Brower was named the first executive director of the Sierra Club in 1952, following World War II service with the Army's 10th Mountain Division. He went on to help found Friends of the Earth and the League of Conservation Voters.
Over many years, Brower's organizational offspring have alternately inspired and infuriated Californians.
Brower and his allies helped establish the Redwoods National Park and the Point Reyes National Seashore, among other preserves.
They have also challenged, on occasion, some of the same lawmakers now being asked to honor Brower's memory.
