Given that both the centenary of the National Park Service (NPS) of the United States and Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado are both fast approaching centenaries in 2016 and 2015 respectively, it is a key time to investigate retrospectively at the history of a specific park over the last century. Parks in the United States are one of the key driver of tourism within the US. And it is worth examining the relatinship between parks and tourism. Additionaly, 2014 is the 50th anniversary of the US Wilderness Act. Since 2009, this piece of legislation carries heavy weight governing the relationship between Rocky Mountain National Park and its key gateway community Estes Park. Even prior to the declaration of the Rocky Mountain National Park wilderness, the park has been managed for its wilderness charateristics since at least 1976 with the publication of the park’s current master plan. Environmental protection, wilderness, water, gateway community economics, and tourism have a confluence at Rocky Mountain National Park.
The park and its environs present an ideal location for this project for many reasons. Firstly, it straddles the continental divide and is an example of one of those early western parks that sought to protect “pre contact” natural values (Master Plan). It protects the headwaters of the Colorado River, arguably the most important river in the arid part of the United States beyond the 100th meridian. Secondly, since 2009, a vast majority of the land contained in the park is officially designated as a wilderness area. Of the park’s 265,777 acres nearly 250,000 are now designated a wilderness. (Official press release http://www.nps.gov/romo/naturescience/wilderness.htm retrieved 3/31/2014). These 250,000 acres are ...
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...’s relationship to the national park. Again, the Estes/Rocky relationship is ideal because it is relatively simple in comparison to America’s two other continental divide parks – Glacier and Yellowstone. The park has two main gateway communities – Granby and Estes Park. Estes is larger and handles most of the tourist traffic through the park since most visitors arrive from Colorado’s Front Range and the Denver metropolitan area. Therefore, this study will be limited to Estes Park and the eastern area of the park where most tourism activity takes place. The other two parks have more communities and more relationships as will be discussed below. It is hoped that the results of this study would be ultimately applied to other parks and communities with an eye toward developing broader understanding of the park/gateway community relationship in a North American setting.
This anthropocentric theme continues throughout his narrative but is personified on a societal level. This matter is first introduced in the chapter “Polemic: Industrial Tourism and The National Parks.” In this chapter Abbey notes the expansionist nature of the industrial economy and how it is affecting the national parks. Abbey critiques arguments for uni...
Canyonlands National Park, immense amounts of wilderness and rock, is located at the heart of the Colorado Plateau (Canyonlands National Park-Geology). Millions of years have formed specific features to the rock and surrounding wilderness that make it so special. Throughout the park, you will find that the sedimentary rock has formed many features such as hundreds of colorful canyons, mesas, buttes, fins, arches, and spires. The Green and Colorado rivers have played a major role in the formation of many of these features. These rivers cut through the park forming two massive canyons. This further splits the park into three distinct zones. “Island in the Sky” sits to the north while “The Maze” sits off to the west and “The Needles” to the east (Canyonlands National Park Information Guide). “Island in the Sky” serves as Canyonlands’ observation tower; it allows tourists to see overwhelming vistas of the rest of the land. “The Maze,” as hinted at by the name has been described as a “30 square mile puzzle in sandstone” (NPS: Nature & Science» Geology Resources Division). This section of the park often ranks as one of the most remote and inaccessible areas of the United States. Lastly, “The Needles” is known for its diversity in rock features. Throughout this land, features such as sculptured rock spires, arches, canyons, grabens, and potholes can be seen. The varying names hint at the diversity of the land as a whole. As said by The National Park Service’s Geology Resources Division, “Traces of the Anasazi can be found in almost every canyon in the Needles. Many of their stone and mud dwellings and storehouses are remarkably well-preserved. Tower Ruins, built high on a cliff ledge in a side canyon of Horse Canyon, is an outstanding ex...
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Have you heard of small towns with a really deep and strong history inside it? Well, the small city of Yuma, Arizona, that overlooks the Colorado River, has had so much history that takes us back to the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. Back in 1875, one extreme prison facility opened its doors. This prison would later be an important part of Yuma. The Yuma Territorial Prison was so extreme that not the residents around it, but the own prisoners called it a “hell hole” because of its strong, dry weather, and of how they treated them! Now, we try and understand how things that are now around this State Historic Park helped this facility back in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. What was the importance of the Colorado River,
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?
"In 1978, Congress amended the National Trails Act of 1968 to form the Continental Divide National Scenic Trail, but more than 30 years later the trail is still unfinished"(Boyer 1). The lack of clearly defined trails poses immense difficulties; therefore, maps are highly recommended--in order to help hikers find the safest path, with respect to their independence. Another main objective for maps is to navigate through the unfinished paths. For decades, the CDT was an obstacle in America's westward migration. Given the infamous obstacles,...
This park is famous among National Park Service enthusiasts and photographers but is under-appreciated by just about everyone else. Not only is this the most diverse National Park, but it is simply one of the best. No other place has such disparate landscapes packed into such a small area.
Red Lodge, Montana is a thriving community of 1,875 “nestled at the foot of the very rugged and scenic Beartooth Mountains”. While the number of residents compares too many small towns in North Dakota, the difference spurs for the abundant amount of tourist activity drawn through the small town. Tourists come from all around to ski at the Red Lodge Mountain Resort, golf on a beautiful mountainside course, or shop in the many stores lining the city. With three great options to choose from millions of tourists continue to flood the streets of Red Lodge, Montana every year.
In our modern democratic society, many Americans have come to enjoy the freedom of traveling to various parts of the U.S. to visit our national parks and historic landmark. To get to these destinations, we travel by land, sea, and sky. Though our destinations may take us to the middle of a forest, such as in the the cases of Yosemite or Yellowstone National Parks, we are able to acquire clean water, and have access to modern sanitation. Our enjoyment of these national treasures is greatly enhanced by the relative ease of access these these places, and by the modern sanitation amenities which most Americans have grown to expect. The land upon which many of our national landmarks and roads reside were
Similar with other careers, the Internet has become a very useful source in Parks and Recreation Management. With their own website, the [2]national and [3]state park systems are more able to inform people about upcoming rules and regulations and new developments in different parks.
The very famous National Park Grand Canyon is located in the state of Arizona. The canyon is carved by the Colorado River, which is an iconic feature within the canyon. The Grand Canyon park is on the area of 4 926 km², it’s 277 miles long and up to 18 miles wide. The living history of Grand Canyon goes 10,500 years back in time, where it has been proven that people actually lived around there. Along with other cultures, Native Americans were on of the groups that lived here. Grand Canyon is one of the worlds’ top parks that attract nearly five million visitors each year. One million of the visitors are international, so it’s not a secret that many people think that that Grand Canyon is a place that must be visited during a lifetime.
Millions of visitors flocked to United State’s stunning national parks. These parks are considered as the gems of the United States National Park System and the most familiar to the public received most of the visitors. These most visited national parks are more than normal family vacation destinations.