About National Parks
- National ParksThe World Conservation Union designates national parks as natural and scenic areas of national and international importance for scientific, educational and recreational use, relatively large areas where ecosystems have been little altered by human activity.
The idea of national parks has been claimed to go back to a statement by William Wordsworth in 1810 that he considered the English Lake District to be ‘a sort of national property’ in which everyone had an interest. The practical reality came from the USA with the W expansion of the frontier in the mid-C19 and in particular the vision of John Muir. The US federal government granted money to the state of California in 1864 to preserve Yosemite valley as a park. Originally this was done to safeguard specific natural curiosities but in the mid-1880s there was a change in public opinion regarding the need for the preservation of landscapes and in 1890 Yosemite was created a national park. In 1872 Yellowstone, covering c.800,000 ha, was established as a national park (Sheail 2010). Americans had a romanticized view of nature within their national parks; much of what they saw as wilderness was the product of previous management by Indians.
The true preservation of forest began in the E with the Adirondacks State Park (1.2 million ha) in 1892 (Williams 1989). The US National Park Service, established in 1916, runs 367 national parks, monuments and historic sites. Access to national parks improved significantly in the 1950s with the construction of interstate highways and increasing car ownership, leading to growing demands for access and facilities, causing problems with their management (Runte 1987).
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Perspectives
Land Trusts and Biodiversity
Land trusts are a new and growing phenomenon and are not yet much studied by academics. This book provides an entry point into the world of land trusts and biodiversity for anyone (i) doing academic work in the conservation sciences, (ii) taking their first job with a land trust and in need of an overview of the topic, or (iii) who has a general interest in land conservation and the protection of biological resources. The book sets out an intellectual framework for thinking about land trusts and biodiversity conservation, one that blends the critical edge of the academic and pragmatic concerns of the practitioner. The essential purpose of the book is to show how land trusts protect biodiversity in the work they do and how this work is an important step in reforming the institution of property to account for the welfare of all of nature's living beings. Anyone wanting a simple overview of the land trust movement and its work on the conservation of nature's assets need go no further.
Science and the National Parks
The U.S. National Park Service needs much better scientific information to protect the nation's parks for future generations, and research must be an essential element in its mandate. Science and the National Parks examines the reasons why science is important to the national parks, reviews previous evaluations of research in the parks, and recommends ways to improve the current science program. The book stresses the need for two distinct but related approaches to research, called "science for the parks" and "parks for science." Science for the parks includes research to gain understanding of park resources and develop effective management strategies. The parks for science concept recognizes that the national parks are potentially very important to scientific investigations of broad national and global environmental problems and invaluable for understanding the ecological response to anthropogenic change. Science and the National Parks is a critical assessment of the problems hampering the current Park Service science program, providing strong recommendations to help the agency establish a true mandate for science, create separate funding and autonomy for the program, and enhance its credibility and quality.
Investing in Nature
In 2004, U.S. consumers spent $5.2 billion purchasing bottled water while the government only invested 5 percent of that amount to purchase critical watersheds, parks, and wildlife refuges-systems vital to clean water and healthy environments. How can we reverse the direction of such powerful economic forces? A group of dedicated business-people-turned-environmental-entrepreneurs is pioneering a new set of tools for land conservation deals and other market-based strategies. These pragmatic visionaries have already used these methods to protect millions of acres of land and to transform the practices of entire industries. They are transforming the very nature of conservation by making it profitable. Drawing on his vast experience in both business and land conservation at The Nature Conservancy (TNC), William Ginn offers a practical guide to these innovative methods and a road map to the most effective way to implement them. From conservation investment banking, to emerging markets for nature's goods and services, to new tax incentives that encourage companies to do the "right" thing, Ginn goes beyond the theories to present real-world applications and strategies. And, just as importantly, he looks at the lessons learned from what has not worked, including his own failed efforts in Papua New Guinea and TNC's controversial compatible development approach in Virginia. In an era of dwindling public resources and scarce charitable dollars, these tools reveal a new, and perhaps the only, pathway to achieving biodiversity goals and protecting our lands. C
Creating The National Park Service
Two men played a crucial role in the creation and early history of the National Park Service: Stephen T. Mather, a public relations genius of sweeping vision, and Horace M. Albright, an able lawyer and administrator who helped transform that vision into reality. In Creating the National Park Service, Albright and his daughter, Marian Albright Schenck, reveal the previously untold story of the critical "missing years" in the history of the service. During this period, 1917 and 1918, Mather's problems with manic depression were kept hidden from public view, and Albright, his able and devoted assistant, served as acting director and assumed Mather's responsibilities. Albright played a decisive part in the passage of the National Park Service Organic Act of 1916; the formulation of principles and policies for management of the parks; the defense of the parks against exploitation by ranchers, lumber companies, and mining interests during World War I; and other issues crucial to the future of the fledgling park system. Rich in detail and insight, with sharply drawn personalities and engaging anecdotes, this authoritative behind-the-scenes history sheds light on the early days of the most popular of all federal agencies while painting a vivid picture of American life in the early twentieth century.
The Planner's Guide to Natural Resource Conservation:
Much of the country's recent population growth is situated in exurban areas. By many accounts exurbanization has become the dominant pattern of land development in the country and there is no indication it will slow in the foreseeable future (Theobald 2005; Brown et al. 2005; Glennon and Kretser 2005). By definition, exurban development takes place beyond the metropolitan fringe, often in rural and remote areas. The development of new exurban communities is a growing trend, especially in the West. In this case, developers and homebuilders seek large tracts of land, up to thousands of acres, in rural areas (typically within 50 miles of a large city) where they plan entire communities consisting of commercial, retail and residential land uses. Recreational amenities such as golf courses and hiking/biking trails are often included in these master-planned developments. Our philosophy is reflected in the book's two objectives. First, we seek to document the extent and impacts of exurban development across the country. At issue is demonstrating why planners and the public-at-large should be concerned about exurbanization. We will demonstrate that even though exurbanization favors amenity rich regions, it affects all areas of the country through the loss of agricultural and grazing lands, impacts to watersheds and land modification. A summary of environmental impacts is presented, including the loss of wildlands and agricultural productivity, land modification, soil erosion, impacts to terrestrial hydrologic systems, the loss of biodiversity, nonnative and endangered species and other topics. Our second aim is to provide readers from diverse (nonscientific) backgrounds with a working knowledge of how and why exurbanization impacts environmental systems.
The Land of the Lightning Brothers
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In the sandstone country southwest of Katherine in the Northern Territory lies a spectacular concentration of Aboriginal rock art. Ancestral beings, the Lightning Brothers, feature in this art. For the Wardaman people, the Lightning Brothers are an important part of their living culture. The Wardaman perform traditional songs and ceremonies associated with special Dreamtime places where their art is found. Like many rock art sites, the Wardaman's Dreamtime places are extremely vulnerable. This fascinating and educational program, featuring the music of Australian group Gondwanaland, looks at the way these valuable sites are being preserved.
Online Resources
- Bureau of Land Management-National Conservation LandsThe BLM's twenty year old National Conservation Lands currently includes over 900 units covering about 33 million acres designated by Congress and the President to conserve special features, from winding rivers to mountain vistas. The National Conservation Lands offer the American people exceptional opportunities for hunting, solitude, wildlife viewing, fishing, history exploration, scientific research and a wide range of traditional uses. The BLM manages these public lands for the benefit of current and future generations, supporting conservation as a part of the BLM's multiple-use and sustained yield mission. This means respecting the ties that native and traditional communities have to public lands, as well as being welcoming of diverse interests and uses.
- Department of Conservation and Recreation-Land ConservationDCR's Division of Land Conservation helps citizens and organizations protect land by assisting in the distribution of state funding for land conservation, and acquiring land for Virginia State Parks and the Virginia Natural Area Preserve System.
The Land Conservation team helps to distribute funding for conservation by reviewing the conservation value of Land Preservation Tax Credit applications for more than $1 million and providing administrative support for the Virginia Land Conservation Foundation Board and grant program. - National Park ServiceSince 1916, the National Park Service has been entrusted with the care of our national parks. With the help of volunteers and partners, we safeguard these special places and share their stories with more than 318 million visitors every year. But our work doesn't stop there.
We are proud that tribes, local governments, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and individual citizens ask for our help in revitalizing their communities, preserving local history, celebrating local heritage, and creating close-to-home opportunities for kids and families to get outside, be active, and have fun. - U.S. Department of the Interior-Land and Water Conservation FundThe Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) Federal program supports the protection of federal public lands and waters – including national parks, forests, wildlife refuges, and recreation areas – and voluntary conservation on private land. LWCF investments secure public access, improve recreational opportunities, and preserve ecosystem benefits for local communities.
National Parks Adventure
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowNarrated by Academy Award(r) winner Robert Redford, NATIONAL PARKS ADVENTURE takes audiences on the ultimate off-trail adventure into the nation's awe-inspiring great outdoors and untamed wilderness. Immersive IMAX(r) 3D cinematography takes viewers soaring over red rock canyons, hurtling up craggy mountain peaks and into other-worldly realms found within America's most legendary outdoor playgrounds, including Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Yosemite, and Arches. Celebrate the 100-year anniversary of the national parks with world-class mountaineer Conrad Anker, adventure photographer Max Lowe and artist Rachel Pohl as they hike, climb and explore their way across America's majestic parks in an action-packed expedition that will inspire the adventurer in us all.
The Morning of Creation
- Kanopy This link opens in a new windowFollowing World War II, the parks are overwhelmed as visitation reaches 62 million people a year. A new billion-dollar campaign - Mission 66 - is created to build facilities and infrastructure that can accommodate the flood of visitors. A biologist named Adolph Murie introduces the revolutionary notion that predatory animals, which are still hunted, deserve the same protection as other wildlife.
In Florida, Lancelot Jones, the grandson of a slave, refuses to sell to developers his family's property on a string of unspoiled islands in Biscayne Bay and instead sells it to the federal government to be protected as a national monument. In the late 1970s, President Jimmy Carter creates an uproar in Alaska when he sets aside 56 million acres of land for preservation - the largest expansion of protected land in history. In 1995, wolves are re-established in Yellowstone, making the world's first national park a little more like what it once was.