Quarter commemorates nature

The first quarter to be released in 2005 honors conservation, the environment and wildlife preservation. California, the 31st state admitted into the Union, became the 31st state to release a quarter as part of the U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program. The design is a product of the 20-member California State Quarter Commission, which solicited design concepts from its state's citizens. The commission forwarded 20 designs to the governor's office, which decreased the final count to five. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger chose the final selection and submitted it to the U.S. Department of Treasury, which subsequently approved it April 15, 2004. The "John Muir/Yosemite Valley" design depicts the naturalist and conservationist admiring Yosemite Valley's monolithic granite headwall known as "Half Dome," and also contains a soaring California condor. Muir devoted his entire life to conservation, and published more than 300 articles and 10 books on the subject. In 1890, Congress established Yosemite National Park. In 1892, Muir helped form the Sierra Club to protect the area, where he called home since 1868. The condor is featured on the coin as a tribute to the successful repopulation of the once nearly extinct bird. Only two other released coins share a similar landscape--Minnesota and Oregon. Minnesota was released into circulation in mid-April and illustrates a scenic, tree-lined lake. Oregon is scheduled for later this year and features a portion of its famous Crater Lake. Since 1999, the 10-year program has released five coins a year.

For more information on the coin program, visit www.usmint.gov.