In a time when people would rather look at nature on a screen than going out and experiencing it themselves, the
National Park Service needs advocates and resources more than ever. The National Park Service manages all of the parks and monuments and maintains all of the sites to make sure that the sites are in a condition for people to visit and explore. Congress is seriously considering cutting a large amount of the funding going to the National Park Service due to the fact that a large percentage of Americans seem to have become uninterested in these parks and monuments. Attendance at National Parks and monuments has drastically declined in this new age of technology, and the parks are not able to bring in enough money for Congress to justify the continuation of funding the National Park Service. However, cutting funding to this program would be a great disservice to the American public for many reasons. The National Park Service deserves adequate funding and resources because of the educational experiences it provides and the cultural importance it holds to many Americans.
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Cutting the funding towards this program would deprive Americans of a learning experience that is key to expanding their knowledge of concepts such as nature, the ecosystem, and environmental science. Students from all across the country visit national parks and monuments on field trips to enhance classroom lessons. National parks and monuments provide many educational opportunities such as,” teaching kids about nature, developing teacher curriculum and interpreting historical events,” (Bilmes and Loomis). The lessons gained from visiting National Parks would be impossible to replicate on any electronic device and can only be taught by being immersed in and experiencing the nature itself. National parks and monuments are also,” used for scientific exploration, historical research
National Parks Service. "NATIONAL REGISTER CRITERIA FOR EVALUATION." National Register Publications. http://www.nps.gov/history/nr/publications/bulletins/nrb15/nrb15_2.htm (accessed February 14, 2014).
...c structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest in federal ownership as national monuments. National parks were established together with National Forest Service throughout U.S. for conservation and recreation purposes. These actions faced opposition from Western settlers and Congress members who had plans of using the land that was set aside but also the Indians who were forced to stop hunting and fishing. However, settlers were happy with 1902 Reclamation Act that put aside funds to irrigate unlivable chunks of land and previously dry.
Do you want to hear about the first national park that is the first and only dedicated to a president? Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established in 1947. The Mountains are over 55 million years old. The badlands of Theodore Roosevelt national park is dry with occasional monsoon showers. The park is located in Medora, North Dakota, and is home to some amazing animals including wild horses, reptiles and mammals.
The National Park Service is a United States federal government agency that manages all of the United States national parks and many national monuments. In addition to the parks and monuments the National Park Service manages other conservation and historical properties throughout the country. The National Park Service is tasked with preserving the historical and ecological integrity of the properties it is in charge of managing, as well as making sure these properties are available for full public use.
Petrified Forest National Park is located in the Painted Desert in northeastern Arizona taking up 93,532.57 acres of its land. Before the national park was established, it was founded as a National Monument on December 8, 1906 when President Theodore Roosevelt signed the proclamation. Years later, the Congress passed a bill and established it as a national park on December 9, 1962. Centuries before Petrified Forest National Park was preserved as a national park, the land was preoccupied by the Paleo people. At the onset of the end of the last Ice Age, hunter-gatherers, people who lived by hunting game and only gathering edible plants, roamed the Southwest from 13,500 to 8000 B.C. Although these people enjoy meals consisting of meat and vegetables, they don’t raise livestock and grow crops. During these years of hunting and gathering, the region was cooler with a grassland environment, and people gathered wild plants for food and hunted bison and other large herd of animals. The types of bison these people hunted are now extinct. Nomads used a device called an atlatl to throw their weapons, such as spears and darts, to hunt. By 4000 B.C., during the archaic culture, the climate had changed and became similar to the one of the present. This period of hunting, gathering, and farming had lasted from 8000 to 500 B.C. In contrast to the time of the Paleo people, the climate was warmer, people extended their access to different types of food, and people began to farm and grow their crops. Due to the extinction of animals of the past, people had to expand their source of food, and they had to include many different species of plants and animals into their meals. Two hundred twenty-five million years ago, trees fell and were washe...
There should be no man made machinery operating in the park unless absolutely necessary. The creation of the National Park Service is to preserve wilderness in a way that gives people the opportunity to experience nature in all its wonder. It was never intended to create amusement parks where people never leave the safety of the modern age and look at the natural world through glass. Being completely enveloped in nature has many benefits, from physical such as lowering blood pressure, to psychological in boosting moods. According to Tyler Tapps in Parks & Recreation: “Recent research indicates that outdoor activity is associated with positive mental and physical benefits, including increased cardiovascular function, decreased stress levels, and reduced blood pressure” (Tapps). Abbey understood this, as did many Americans. Today however the number of people willing to immerse themselves in the nations parks is decreasing. In Desert Solitaire, abbey puts it this way: “A man on foot, on horseback or on a bicycle will see more, feel more, enjoy more in one mile than the motorized tourist can in a hundred miles” (Abbey). Today many members of the younger generation have lost that sense of joy and wonder in the outdoor setting. This change would bring back the love of nature in this
States. National Park Service. (2014, May, 12). History & Culture. National Parks Service. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/yose/historyculture/index.htm
... environmentally safe. Second I think it is important to keep our national parks open to the people but this has shown the need to protect them to a point so our children and grandchildren can enjoy these National Parks in the future. Third, It is nice to see that the case studies go on. Without this research we would not have a direction to go although expensive, I think it is well worth it. The research needs to be compiled correctly by professionals and have no bias or slanted opinions contaminate the overall conclusion to the study.
Since its creation in 1916, the National Park Service (NPS) has had to balance between its two goals, which are to preserve wilderness and nature and to provide the public with access to these wonders in a monitored environment. These two goals tend to create a conflict for the NPS because as soon as one goal is given more priority than the other, the administration of national parks is harshly criticized by the public. The accusation that by allowing people to experience the wilderness, the NPS is corrupting the natural environment is very common, as well, as the criticism towards the lack of government funding to preserve nature and history. However, regardless of arguable criticism and a certain need for improvement, after one hundred years,
National Parks have awed tourists and even locals for years. They provide an escape from the ordinary and relief from the everyday stress of society. National Parks provide insight into a simpler time where our ancestors were surrounded by the beauty of nature instead of the concrete jungles of modern day metropolitan areas. Few of these wonderful parks provide the same seclusion as Denali National Park in Alaska. It’s sights and sounds have fascinated many and will continue to provide a great escape from everyday life.
Every year, over nine million hikers and adventure seekers travel to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park making it the most visited national park in the United States. There are abundant reasons for this, but many popular reasons include over 150 hiking trails extending over 850 miles, a large portion of the Appalachian Trail, sightseeing, fishing, horseback riding, and bicycling. The park houses roughly ten thousand species of plants and animals with an estimated 90,000 undocumented species likely possible to be present. It is clear why there was a pressing interest in making all this land into a national park. My research was started by asking the question; how did the transformation of tourism due to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park affect surrounding cities such as Gatlinburg and Sevier County, and in return, its effect on the popularity of the park?
By placing this emphasis on beauty in the wilderness the American people expected to see a beautiful wilderness, although in reality these two are not mutually exclusive. Muir supported a form of natural improvement in which alterations to the natural world are made, but not with any economic value in mind. Interestingly, Muir suggests that our wildness is a commodity to which, we are glad to see how much of even the most destructible kind is still unspoiled”. (Muir) By the time the National Park Service was founded in 1916 the American people wanted to be entertained by, and in, nature
“… It is apparent, then, that we cannot decide the question of development versus preservation by a simple referral to holy writ or an attempt to guess the intention of the founding fathers; we must make up our own minds and decide for ourselves what the national parks should be and what purpose they should serve.”-Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire
When you think about New York, you think about Times Square, The Statue of Liberty, or The Empire State Building, however most people are blind to other attractions going on all the time. Since I am from the wonderful state of New York, I can fill you in on other attractions. New York City is way more than just a big, blooming, business city. Let me help you, by getting that sky scrapper image out of your head, and inform you on one of the oldest, most beautiful places to visit, containing plenty of attractions for one to do.
I am about to describe to you a walk in the park. That being said a few details are required for you to fully picture the likes of what I am about to describe. The time of day is a little past noon and the wind is howling. The sky is a pastel blue, almost as if a wash of blue light was covering a white canvas. The sun is vibrant and concentrated. You can sense the gentle warmth of the sun on your skin and see the lively colors of the world all around you. Alert to the dancing light that surrounds you, your journey begins. Searching for your starting point you choose to begin walking down a gravel pathway that has a clearing of trees a few hundred feet away. The day has a familiar, inviting glow and all around the gentle colors of green, yellow and red surround the pathway. The sun a luminous