David Brower

"Courage is standing firm when everyone else is standing down."

"The fear of losing what makes us human should be greater than the fear of sacrifice."

"Power without wisdom is the root of all destruction."

"The adventure of life is in fighting for what endures."

"Beauty preserved is beauty multiplied."

"Death of wild places is death of the human spirit."

"In perseverance lies the hope of redemption."

"We are grateful for what we are leaving behind, not just what we take."

"Creativity demands wild inspiration, not tamed repetition."

"The strongest person is the one who admits they are part of nature, not above it."

"Fear should never be the reason we fail to act."

"The patient tortoise of conservation will outlast the hare of exploitation."

"Kindness to one species is kindness to all."

"In solitude with nature, we find solutions that eluded us in cities."

"The battle for the environment will be fought in the chambers of commerce and boardrooms, not in the wilderness."

"In every print I try to capture not just the image, but the soul of the landscape."

"We do not inherit the earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children."

"The gross national product does not allow for the health of children or the quality of education."

"There is a stark difference between what we preserve and what we merely endure."

"Photography is the shortest distance between observation and understanding."

"You cannot have true conservation without addressing the hearts of people first."

"The beauty of nature is not negotiable; it is essential."

"We have become so focused on progress that we forgot what we were progressing toward."

"The wilderness has no lobbyists in Congress, so we must be their voice."

"Every landscape tells a story if you take time to listen."

"Economic growth without environmental stewardship is merely the postponement of bankruptcy."

"I have learned that the most powerful photographs are those that make us question our choices."

"The fight for conservation is ultimately a fight for human dignity."

"We must think like mountains, not like quarterly earnings reports."

"The camera can be a tool of truth or a weapon of deception—intention matters."