History of National Parks 1

Essay: History of National Parks

Environmental Issues

Academic level: Undergraduate

15th October, 2010

History of National Parks

 History of National Parks 2

National parks are the broadest areas held by national authorities for protection of national

heritage, monuments, wild life, and recreational areas. The idea for establishment of national

parks was conceptualized by an artist George Catlin who after travelling North America in 1832,

thought that civilization, heritage and wildlife must be preserved for future generations otherwise

it will get destroyed. Florida park service is among the largest park services having 160 parks

showing the diverse cultural of Florida. Florida State parks are established for recreational

opportunities that help visitors to know about the real Florida.

The greatest mission of national parks is to promote and preserve nature and heritage including

wildlife and historical objects. National parks service strives to meet the goals including to be the

guardian of natural, cultural and recreational resources and to be a source of education about

history, providing excellent services to visitors, citizen involvement in decision making,

enjoyment and cumulative expression of national heritage for future generation. (National Park

Services, 1998)

The most common denominator of national parks is their existing land and water. Both of these

natural resources can be perfect but a significant restoration and ongoing management is required

for maintenance of these resources. For this purpose Land and Water Conservation Fund

(LWCF) has been developed since 1965 for the acquisition of land for recreational purposes and

has achieved great success over the years. National park service also search for the proper areas

and to purchase land having components of historical theme for recreation like the land set aside

in Alaska. Naturally protected areas such as land and water are closely related to the history of

tourism. Both of these resources have offered visitors natural and scenic values, archeological

and anthropological sites which take them into the past era. The landscape and watersheds has

been enlightened withdrawal of public interest in all ages. ( Hogenauer, 1996)

 History of National Parks 3

The advent of science and technology has played a significant role in the development of

national parks. These parks offer considerable advantages and facilities to visitors like

management offices, internal transportation in the parks, entertainment, convention centers,

banks and offices. Technology helped park services in many ways but at times there are

drawbacks as well as technology is also man made, not a magic. Data gathering about visitors

and service providers is vital for tourism industry. Tourist’s satisfaction level and data about

their repeat visits to the parks shows their experiences and perception about service quality and

physical surroundings.

Tourism has become the most lucrative industry of the world providing recreational

opportunities and quality environment which contributes to the revenue generation for economy.

National parks provide excellent services in collaboration of federal and local government

presenting history and common heritage.

References

“National Park Services”. 1998. National Park Service goals. 13th October, 2010

http://www.nps.gov/planning/sp/nps_goal.htm

Hogenauer, Alan. K. “Marketing National Parks: Oxymoron or Opportunity.”

Heritage Log (1996)