George Bristol

When George Bristol first saw the mountains surrounding East Glacier, Montana, in 1961, he was “awed to his depths.” Thus began a 50-year love affair with nature and public parks that would lead Bristol to become a crusader for America’s national parks, specifically the public park system in Texas. Beginning with his upbringing by a widowed young mother, Bristol’s On Politics and Parks narrates the various influences that led him to an influential political career. When Bristol received an offer to work for the Clinton administration after many years of highly active political involvement, Bristol instead asked for a place on the board of the National Park Foundation (NPF). He elevated the image of the National Park Service and helped establish a highly successful fundraising strategy for the NPF, and soon, began to do the same for his home state. Over 10 years and five legislative sessions, Bristol utilized his many contacts, his well-honed political sense, and his dogged patience to win the day for everyone who loves Texas’ public lands. On Politics and Parks is at once a lesson in conservation history and a captivating personal memoir that will inform and inspire all those who share Bristol’s commitment to preserve the beauty of the outdoors for future generations. Bristol, of Austin, was a consultant on the Ken Burns/Dayton Duncan PBS series The National Parks: America’s Best Idea. The 2009 winner of the Pugsley Medal honoring champions of parks and conservation, he was also a writer-in-residence at the Thinking Like a Mountain Foundation in Fort Davis, Texas. Bristol was also winner of the 2000 PEN Texas Literary Award for Poetry, the First Annual Texas Land & People Award (2007), the Terry Hershey Award (2008), and the Nature Conservancy of Texas Lifetime Achievement Award (2008). In 2008, he received a leadership award from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

At the Festival: On Politics and Parks (Conservation Leadership Series, Sponsored by the River Systems Institute at Texa) The Hill Country Conservancy & TBF present The Politics and Wonder of Parks Sunday, October 28 Texas State Capitol: Capitol Extension Room E2.014