The "Wilderness Idea" I believe is different people's viewpoints on the environment. For example Muir believed wilderness was God's inventions and should not be tampered with by man. The Indian man in the film basically had the viewpoint that the west or wilderness was not wild until the white man came. Different viewpoints on this idea are what set people apart.
2. Muir believed we should conserve and protect the land. He believed it was already perfect and humans could not improve its status. Therefore we should basically leave the natural resources alone. Pinchot believed we could use the natural resources and they would improve if we managed them. Their viewpoints contrasted in the facet of human involvement.
3. Muir's family had immigrated from Scotland to Wisconsin and owned a farm. Muir had a very rough childhood. His dad would make him work 17 hour days on the farm and was a very strict disciplinarian. The wilderness was Muir's escape from his father. He suffered an injury early in his adulthood in which he injured his eyes using a piece of machinery. When his eyes finally healed he had swore that he would live for God's inventions not man's. He then decided to make a thousand mile walk from Kentucky to the Gulf of Mexico. During this journey he came to the revelation that the world was not there for him, or humans in general. He sometimes held animal value of greater worth than human value.
Pinchot grew up a very wealthy lifestyle taking many trips and attending the finest schools and universities. He had the best of everything. He was raised to be a powerful man. With his dad's strong influence he chose forestry for his career.
4. Muir and Pinchot are considered founders of American conservation because they did things involving the environment that no one had yet done. They brought attention to environmental issues which no one had yet done. Muir would make many journeys through the forest in which he would write about.