George Melendez Wright featured in "National Parks: America's Best Idea"
The life and work of George Melendez Wright will be featured in the soon-to-be-released 6-part documentary, "National Parks: America's Best Idea," which begins airing September 27 on PBS, the US public television network. The film is one of the most-anticipated documentaries of the year.
Episode #5 is the one featuring Wright.
Filmmakers Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan have made a special effort to highlight the contributions of racial and ethnic minorities to the development of the US national park idea and the national park system. As a Hispanic American, Wright caught their attention, and so he will be spotlighted during a 10-minute segment during one of the episodes.
Duncan, the principal writer of the documentary, has written eloquently of his admiration of Wright in the GWS' NPS Centennial Essay Series.
The Burns/Duncan series has created a huge amount of pre-release buzz (as well as some criticism for focusing too much on the so-called crown jewels of the system). To find out more about the series:
George Melendez Wright page from PBS website for the film
USNPS Biological Resources Management Division webpage on George Melendez Wright
Florentine Films (the Burns production company) website for the film