Newton B. Drury

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Newton Drury
4th Director of the National Park Service
In office August 20, 1940 – March 31, 1951
President	Franklin D. Roosevelt Harry S. Truman
Preceded by	Arno B. Cammerer
Succeeded by	Arthur E. Demaray
Personal details
Born	Newton Bishop Drury (1889-04-09)April 9, 1889 San Francisco, California
Died	December 14, 1978(1978-12-14) (aged 89) Berkeley, California
Occupation	Advertising, politician

Newton Bishop Drury (April 9, 1889 – December 14, 1978) was the fourth director of the American National Park Service and the executive director of the Save the Redwoods League.

Early life

Newton was born in 1889 in

In 1919, he and his brother Aubrey formed the Drury Brothers Company, an advertising and public relations agency. That same year, the organizers of the Save the Redwoods League, many of whom knew Drury from the university, asked Drury Brothers to manage the League. Newton Drury became executive secretary in charge of publicity and fundraising, a position he held for twenty years. Drury and the league obtained a six-million dollar bond measure passed to buy California redwood groves.

National Park Service

Drury declined appointment as NPS Director in 1933, but accepted the job in 1940. He was the first director without prior national park responsibilities, but came with strong conservationist credentials, having served as executive secretary of the Save the Redwoods League in California. During World War II he successfully resisted most demands for consumptive uses of park resources. Less eager than his predecessors to expand the park system, he opposed NPS involvement with areas he judged not to meet national park standards. Differences with Secretary of the Interior Oscar L. Chapman over Chapman's support for dams in Dinosaur National Monument contributed to Drury's resignation in 1951.

After his resignation from the park service Drury accepted the position as head of the California Division of Beaches and Parks. He was instrumental in changing some of the operational policies of the state park system to that similar to the national park system. In particular, he dropped the recreational emphasis in summer programming to that of interpretation with a natural history emphasis.

Death

Drury died in December 1978.^[3] He received a Pugsley Medal twice, a silver medal in 1940 and a gold medal in 1950. He was board chairman of the Save the Redwoods League at his death.^[4]

Legacy

The Newton B. Drury Scenic Parkway is the 10