Skip to main content

To Know the Institutional Knowledge - Part 2

Mark at Zion National Park, UT

 (Photos by Mark) In my last post, in Part I, I drafted a message on a magnificently modest piece of Congressional Legislation that created the National Park Service (NPS), specifically – the Organic Act of August 25, 1916. 


Have a look back if you missed it. In essence, the Act of 1916 made it clear that the mission of this “new” agency was to conserve the resources for future generations, and that conservation overrides all else.  But that wasn’t the end of the story.

Even before 1916, there were Parks like Sequoia and Yosemite, and certainly many Monuments. The number and diversity of park areas grew and grew over the decades, titled with many different designations: national lakeshores, national historic sites, national recreation areas, national memorials, and more. 

Regardless of the many names and official designations that make up the National Park System, all represent some significant aspect of our natural, cultural, and recreational heritage. But sometimes, so many titles are met with confusion: “Oh, it is called a National Seashore; I didn’t know it was a national park area too.”  

In 1970, a Bill supported on a bipartisan basis in Congress, was signed by President Richard Nixon as the General Authorities Act declaring that “…though distinct in character, [park areas] are united through their related purposes and resources into one national park system as cumulative expressions of a single national heritage…” 

Settled was the argument over a title - no matter if the title reads Zion “National Park,” Craters of the Moon “National Monument & Preserve,”  Pipe Spring “National Monument,” or Big Bend “National Park” (a few of the national park areas I served at during my 43-year career), all of the national park areas, regardless of their designation, are equivalent within the National Park System. No “Crown Jewels” here; just 433 “Jewels in the Crown.”

Next came a series of piecemeal court cases over the duties of the NPS within areas of the System. 

Congress acted again by passing the Redwoods Act Amendments of 1978. This time language of the Act included the “why” each individual park area was established and reasserted the system-wide protection earlier prescribed by Congress: “…Congress further reaffirms, declares, and directs the promotion and regulation of the various areas of the National Park System…shall be consistent with the fundamental purpose of the Act of 1916…and the protection, management, and administration of these areas shall be conducted in light of the high public value and integrity of the National Park System and shall not be exercised in derogation of [their] values and purposes…” Another National Park System argument was settled.

As new employees enter the NPS, these foundation pieces of legislation are central to our training; becoming the “why” our national park areas and our mission exist. 

These laws define the intrinsic values that visitors so love. 

Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve, ID

Pipe Spring National Monument, AZ

Big Bend National Park, TX

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Our Parks, Our Pride, Our Value

The rugged coast of Acadia (Photos by Mark) When people think of a large national park, many envision those in the western U.S. But there is one of the “jewels in the crown” along the wave-pounding Atlantic coastline of Maine – Acadia National Park.  This icon boasts a rugged coast, forests of color, interior wetlands, mountaintop views, and historic carriageways. So much natural and cultural value that this park draws 3.5 million visits a year . Like other national park areas, Acadia is not just land – it is legacy. National park areas unite us and remind us of what’s worth saving. I n the early 1900s, billionaire philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and his family purchased - then donated – 11,000 acres along with 51 miles of carriage roads he financed and constructed, to be incorporated for this new park for America. Rockefeller wasn’t looking at Acadia Island for land values, profit margins or self-financial gains; for this cause, he was just a believer in the value of conservati...
Post a Comment
Read more
Visitors check the view at Grand Teton National Park Someone once said that “the National Parks are the greatest idea America ever had. Absolutely American. Absolutely democratic. They reflect us at our best.”  Welcome to “This Land Is Your Land,” a blog where you go behind the scenes of our finest natural, cultural, and recreational resources, but, more importantly, discover today’s critical challenges facing the 433 areas of our National Park System. Over 331 million people visit our parks each year.  But while it’s “your land” now the big question is – will it still be there for your kids?    
Post a Comment
Read more

To Know the Institutional Knowledge - Part I

Mark at the Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, SD (Photos by Mark) The images I posted here are some of the places I lived and worked, and flourished (Minuteman Missile National Historic Site, Rio Grande Wild & Scenic River, San Antonio Missions National Historical Park, and Big Bend National Park).  Did you know that the NPS has traditionally had the highest public approval rating (in the 70% - 80% favorable column) of any federal agency for decades? Even today, in this time of social challenges, America’s national park areas remain number one. But do most people really “understand” the National Park System/and Service – the history, the purpose, the values?  Authors have written many chapters about the beginnings of the NPS. One chapter shows that it wasn’t created overnight. Instead, the script for the Bill to create a “Park Service” (in 1916) was a result of several years of discussion, debate, and lobbying by 16 individuals meeting off-and-on in the DC apartmen...
Post a Comment
Read more