Articles tagged “parks”

In finding a way to engage a generation more interested in screens than natural sceneries, the U.S. park system has the opportunity to evolve into a more active influential social institution.

An ironic move given the timing, but the acquisition has been discussed for more than a century and speaks to the importance of the parks despite recent setbacks.

Sequestration has had a large impact on many national parks, but it’s also shaken up the system and brought a renewed focus on what they provide the public – something all institutions need.

Increased attention on the operations and costs of national parks under tight budget restraints should motivate state and regional parks to also analyze and reassess how they run.

Should Yosemite National Park resemble a natural wonder or gridlock in Manhattan? Those are the stakes in the debate over the plan to restore the natural flow of the Merced River.

It will be extremely tough for Paterson, the Silk City, to weave its tourism vision into a reality. But, It has so much to offer, including the history of the Negro Leagues, its immigrant and working-class past, the legacy of the Beat Generation's Alan Ginsberg (not mentioned in the article), a Bob Dylan song, and the splendors of the Great Falls.

While limited roads may make sense, over a decade of challenges from multiple political partisans don't, and it serves the forests well to finally be able to plan for the future.

This is a radical rethink of the National Parks model on a state level, and California needs it due to it size. If California goes this way, other smaller states will likely be looking at it for guidance.

Balancing activities that draw visitors and protecting natural resources has always been a challenge for the thinly-stretched park service. The outcome of this Yosemite struggle will likely be reflected in similar battles being waged across the U.S.