The Nixon Library’s first fully-outdoor permanent exhibit dives into the consequential environmental achievements of the Nixon years

 

The President and the Planet provides an in-depth look at the historic environmental initiatives of the Nixon years and the continued impact of the National Environmental Policy Act, the Clean Air Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.

The outdoor exhibition salutes:

• The Marine Mammal Protection Act with all new sculptures “swimming” along the Library’s reflecting pool. Visitors will find a bottlenose porpoise, blue whale, seal, sea otter, polar bear, manatee, and dolphin.
• The Endangered Species Act with a 6 foot 5 inch, 600-pound geometric welded sculpture featuring a Grizzly Bear, Sierra Nevada Red Fox, and El Segundo Blue Butterfly.
• The Legacy of Parks with a Plein Air painting highlighting Great Falls Park in Virginia, Fort Custer State Recreation Area in Michigan, Fort Snelling State Park in Minnesota, and Border Field State Park in California.

President Nixon’s environmental record is consequential and often surprising to visitors of the Nixon Library. It includes the signing of the National Environmental Policy Act, the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency, the signing of the Clean Air Act of 1970, the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the signing of the Endangered Species Act, the signing of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the creation of the Legacy of Parks program, which converted more than 80,000 acres of government property to recreational use in 642 new parks.

The exhibition is presented thanks to the generous support of the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation.