John P. Saylor Conservationist in Congress

[Joni]

John P. Saylor
Conservationist in Congress


John Phillips Saylor (1908-1973) was born on a farm near Johnstown, Pennsylvania, to parents who passed along their great respect for the environment to their son. After receiving a degree from Dickinson College Law School in 1933, he joined his father's law firm in Johnstown. During World War II, Saylor joined the U.S. Navy, and served in the Pacific. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1949, and held a seat in Congress until his death in 1973. During his time in office, he became best known for his support of legislation that would preserve scenic natural areas of the country. In his home state, he opposed the Kinzua Dam, which was proposed as a means of flood control on the Allegheny River. Saylor claimed that the dam would not have a significant impact upon flood protection in the area and that it would destroy one of the last unspoiled stretches of the river. Also, it would lead to the appropriation of Seneca Nation lands, which would violate a treaty made between them and the United States in 1794. Kinzua Dam was ultimately built, but Saylor continued his preservation efforts and eventually became more successful. One of his main efforts in this field was his Scenic Rivers Bill. This bill proposed the protection of several rivers that were designated as "scenic" and made allowances for other rivers to be given this same protection. After several modifications, the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act was finally passed in 1968. Saylor received many honors and accolades for his work in getting the bill through Congress. His work on this and other conservation legislation did much to help protect valuable scenic areas of the nation.

"His father . . . was an avid hiker, hunter, and angler who instilled a passion for those outdoor activities in his sons. The family joined a Sportsmen's Association that owned a hunting and fishing camp in Potter County and throughout his life John Saylor took refuge at Lost Cabin."
-- Thomas G. Smith, author of Voice for Scenic Rivers : John P. Saylor of Pennsylvania
Starting in 1957, Saylor begain voicing his strong opposition to the construction of the Kinzua Dam on the Allegheny River near Warren. Styled a "nature-loving obstructionist" by one of his congressional colleagues, he opposed the dam because its high cost ($120 million) and size, its debatable effectiveness on flood control and the Army Corps of Engineers' stubborn refusal to study alternative plans, its destruction of one of the most scenic stretches of river in Pennsylvania, and most of all because of its breaking of the 1794 treaty with the Senecas, the oldest federal treaty that was still in effect at that time.
" . . . [Y]our great object seems to be the security of your remaining lands, and I have therefore, upon this point, meant to be sufficiently strong and clear. That in the future you cannot be defrauded of your lands; that you possess the right to sell and the right of refusing to sell your lands."
-- President George Washington, Proclamation to Chief Cornplanter of the Senecas, December 29, 1790
" . . . [T]his [Treaty of 11 November 1794] is a new and important security guard against your being cheated; and shows the faithful care which the United States now means to take for the protection of your lands."
-- Timothy Pickering, personal envoy of President Washington, to the Senecas, 1794

Despite the Opposition of Saylor and others, and several suits made by the Seneca Nation against the Army Corps of Engineers, which were ultimately dismissed by the Supreme Court, the Treaty of 1794 was broken, and construction of the Kinzua Dam began in 1960.
The Kinzua Dam caused the complete inundation of almost 10,000 acres of Seneca lands, and rendered another 20,000 acres of their land virtually useless because of periodic flooding caused by fluctuating water levels in the reservoir. Almost 700 members of the Seneca Nation were forced to relocate. The federal government eventually compensated the Senecas $15 million for the land and the relocation costs.

In appreciation for his contributions to the opposition of the Kinzua Dam, the Seneca Nation made Saylor an honorary member on 15 September 1962.