Lecture Three: National Parks and A Question of Balance RTM 251 - Introduction to Recreation and the Natural Environment

Lecture Three:  Resource Mangers:  A Question of Balance. 

The broad topic of lecture three is an introduction of resource management.  Part of this is to identify the size and scope of land and water resources which have been set aside for U.S. citizens to enjoy.  Key questions to review include: What is the history of setting aside these resources at the federal level?  Who manages the 'federal estate' as it is sometimes called?  The National Park Service is probably the most well known of the governmental resource managers and yet they do not control the largest part of the resource base.  But who is the park service, what is their management mandate, and what is the question of balance?  So . . . with that overview, let's plunge ahead with your web based reading and related questions.  

The resource base for outdoor recreation:

In order to do outdoor recreation you and I need access to the outdoors.  Outdoors could include everything from wilderness tracts like Ansel Adams Wilderness Area to urban parks like Griffith Park to accessible sidewalks and benches in your neighborhood for running, wheel chairs, and other movement based activities and passive activities.  These variety of resources are controlled by all three sectors of our communities.  Public sector refers to the government (Federal, state, county, and city).   Private sector refers to those companies or individuals who own various lands and waterways which could be used for OR.  Non-profit or sometimes called third sector are those organizations who control resources and who also frequently provide outdoor programs for use of those lands and lakes.  Non-profits include a wide spectrum of organizations from youth serving organizations like Scouts, environmental groups, and an increasing number of land conservancy groups like the local Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.  

The largest of these resource managers is the federal government who controls over 38% of the land in the U.S.  Does that surprise you - thinking you live in an egalitarian democracy - where private citizens own land rather than kings and an aristocracy.  We will explore who controls what land over the next several lectures.  

The National Park Service and the Question of Balance in Management Philosophy:

Now let's look specifically at the National Park Service (NPS) who controls about 80 million acres of land.  Parks were created first (Yellowstone first national park; Yosemite first national/state park) before the NPS agency was created to manage these resources in 1916.  Go to the NPS website and read this page for an overview of the park service and its scope (http://www.nps.gov/faqs.htm) 

The national park system developed from the first park Yellowstone in 1872 to its current size today with 83 million acres in a variety of park resources.  Some resources are wilderness and some are urban parks or historical sites like the inventor Thomas Edison's Museum or Gettysburg Battle Field.  The creation of a national park requires an act of Congress so of course getting everyone to agree to a specific acquisition is an involved political process.  The Antiquities Act of 1906 allows the President to set aside existing federal lands for protection and resulted in more growth of NPS parks than specific park legislation.  Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Jimmy Carter exercised this authority the most with Teddy the first to exercise this Presidential power and Jimmy the President who set aside the greatest amount of land. 

The legislative language of the founding of Yellowstone bore the seeds for the mandate given later to the Park service in the Organic Act of 1916.  Yellowstone . . . . . . is hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale. . . and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people.

The question of balance is how do you maintain a park as a 'pleasure ground for the people' and at the same time protect the resource for current and future generations.  When Yellowstone National Park averages 4 million visitors per year the question of impact which we've already explored begs the question of balance.  How do we balance use of the resource and preservation of the resource? 

Review this article by Robin Winks to provide a historical context of what is becoming a more significant debate about National Park Service management (Read the first several pages of Wink up to the section  Historic Structures within National Park Units) .

The park service has been involved recently in a rigorous inventory process as it feels pressure from one side of the political debate to better manage its resources.  This assessment and inventory process is described here.

The debate has raged recently (2006) in a review of NPS management practices.  Some environmentalist felt the protection of resources was being overrun by motorized access groups (e.g. snowmobile users).  Some users are concerned that the park service's commitment to preservation and protection of the resource results in hindering access and reasonable use by you and me.  The National Parks Conservation Association (www.npca.org) site will provide some insight on balancing preservation with recreation through their bias in the debate should be clear to you (protection and limitation).   This topic will see further reading and discussion in lecture five. 

Wilderness

What is wilderness?   What is it's history?  What did the Wilderness Act of 1964 mean for parks and people?  Check out the Wilderness Society page for an overview of definitions, history,  legislation, and the national wilderness preservation system (NWPS).   Check out this overview page  and it's links for an overview of these issues from the wilderness advocates.

 When you are ready to take the Quiz 3 you will find the link in Moodle. Participate in the discussion forum prior to taking the Quiz 3.  You are expected to know the historical and legislative history of both the NPS and the NWPS as well as the management issues of the NPS. The test includes six multiple choice questions. The multiple choice questions are worth 4 pts each (24 total) and essays combined are worth a total of 40 points.  It is imperative for full credit that your essays are well written.