Robert O. Binnewies
Robert O. Binnewies (born 1937, Bowling Green, Kentucky) is an American conservationist. Graduate, Colorado State University, 1959, bachelor of science degree, forest recreation. Joined National Park Service, 1961, as a park ranger, Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming. Subsequent NPS assignments included Washington, D.C., 1964–1966, chief ranger, Acadia National Park, Maine, 1967–1971, and superintendent, Yosemite National Park, California, 1979–1986. While in Maine, Binnewies assisted Mrs. David (Peggy) Rockefeller in establishment of the Maine Coast Heritage Trust, a nonprofit organization that champions the voluntary use of conservation easements to protect privately owned lands. To date, the trust has encouraged protection for more than of island and coastal habitat in Maine. Binnewies served as executive director of the trust, 1971–1976. Binnewies served as group vice president, National Audubon Society, 1977–1978, before being selected as Yosemite National Park superintendent in 1979. While at Yosemite, he signed the 1980 General Management Plan that calls for major reductions in commercial, administrative, and transportation activities to better preserve the natural values of Yosemite Valley. He also initiated the Return-of-Light fundraising campaign (now the Yosemite Conservancy) that has generated more than $50 million in charitable financial support for Yosemite. In 1986, Binnewies was abruptly reassigned from Yosemite to the