Frank and John Craighead

Frank Cooper Craighead and John Johnson Craighead were born in Washington, D.C., on August 14, 1916. Their father, Frank Craighead Sr., was an environmentalist and founder of the modern environmentalist Craighead family. Their sister, Jean Craighead George, wrote books with nature and environmental themes for children and young adults, including the award-winning books My Side of the Mountain (a Newbery Honor Book) and Julie of the Wolves (the 1973 Newbery Award winner) . The twin brothers, almost identical to one another, spent much of their time collecting animals and plants along the banks of the Potomac while out of school, but their breakthrough with wildlife came in 1927, when they raised a baby owl at their home. Their interest in hawks and owls grew. By the early 1930s, they regularly visited hawk and owl nests all along the Potomac. Eventually, after high school, they moved to Pennsylvania and attended Pennsylvania State University, graduating with science degrees in 1939. At age 20, the brothers wrote their first article for National Geographic Society, published in the July 1937 issue, Adventures with Birds of Prey. Between 1937 and 1976, they wrote a total of 14 articles for the magazine. During World War II, R. S. Dharmakumarsinhji, an Indian prince living in Bhavnagar who was impressed by the Craigheads' articles invited the brothers to visit India. There, they learned about Indian ways of life and documented falconry in India. The brothers returned home in 1942, as they missed home and their falconry studies in America. They also became deeply opposed to killing animals after participating in Indian hunts during their stay. They wrote their dissertations on raptors. During this time, they researched wildlife in Wyoming and Montana, writing Cloud Gardens in the Tetons in 1948 and Wildlife Adventuring in Jackson Hole in 1956. ==Later career==

In 1950, Frank and John worked as survival consultants to the Strategic Air Command, and in 1951 they organized survival training schools for the Air Force at Mountain Home and McCall, Idaho. From 1953 to 1955, Frank conducted classified defense research. His log home in Moose wasn't winterized, so the family lived in various places around the Jackson Hole valley, including stays on the Murie Ranch, the old Budge house in Wilson, and a house in Jackson. Frank and John went their separate ways in the early 1950s, when John accepted a permanent position with the University of Montana to lead the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit and Frank decided to work outside of academia. From 1955 to 1957, he managed the Desert Game Range outside Las Vegas, Nevada, for the USFWS. This was the era of nuclear testing, and Frank had great concerns about the effects of radiation. However, his efforts to measure and document radiation levels on the refuge were not encouraged by the federal government. The Craigheads were barred from doing any more work in the park by 1971 for speaking against this and for rejecting a new clause in their work contract that required them to gain approval from the National Park Service before doing any further work. However, they continued to do bear research in Montana until the 1980s. ==Writing the National Wild & Scenic River Act==

The brothers, especially Frank, were deeply concerned about preserving the West's rivers. After educating the public about how vital rivers were for water, recreation and fishing, they created the Craighead Environmental Research Institute in 1955 for the "protection and study of wildlife and wilderness." The Institute paved the way for clean water protection and President Johnson signing the National Wild and Scenic Rivers bill of 1965. The Craigheads ended their active research after Frank's log cabin in Moose burned down in 1978. ==Personal lives==

Frank married Esther Craighead in 1945. Meanwhile, John had married Margaret Smith, a mountain climber and daughter of a Grand Teton National Park ranger. Frank and Esther, and John and Margaret built identical log cabins on their property in Moose, and began families. John and Margaret had a son named Johnny. The Craighead institute has offices in both Bozeman and Moose and is run by Frank's son Lance. John Craighead lived in Missoula, Montana. He turned 100 in August 2016. He died in South Missoula a little over a month later, on September 18, 2016. == Selected publications ==

• Track of the Grizzly, Frank Craighead, 1982 • How to Survive on Land and Sea (Physical Education), 1984 • Life with an Indian Prince, 1940–41 • Hawks, Owls and Wildlife, 1958 ==References==