 John Muir wrote articles popularizing the area and increasing scientific interest in it . Muir was one of the first to theorize that the major landforms in Yosemite Valley were created by large alpine glaciers , bucking established scientists such as Josiah Whitney , who regarded Muir as an amateur . Muir wrote scientific papers on the area 's biology . Landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted emphasized the importance of conservation of Yosemite Valley . 
