Supreme Court Justice William O. Douglas and his wife, Cathleen, led a five-mile hike on Nov. 18, 1967, in the Clifty Wilderness area in opposition to the proposed damming of the Red River Gorge. The ardent conservationist, then 69, and his wife, 24, walked about 2 1/2 miles into the lower gorge of the Red River. The justice, who had written many books about wilderness areas, was invited to take the protest hike by members of the Sierra Club, who had been building forces in recent months to fight construction of the proposed reservoir. “I don’t think the cause is lost,” Douglas said. “If I thought that, I wouldn’t be here.” Some people credit Douglas’ visit 50 years ago to helping draw local and national attention to the cause. The fight to save the Red River Gorge was finally concluded with the river’s entry into the National Wild and Scenic River system in December 1993. Photo by Maryjean Wall | Staff