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Science and the Future of the National Parks
| Article
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10835 |
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Section : |
NATURAL SCIENCE
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| Issue
Date : |
3 / 1993 |
2,189 Words |
| Author
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Paul G. Risser
Paul G. Risser, president of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio,
is also chairman of the Committee to Improve the Science and
Technology Programs of the National Park Service. |
Among the more important, spectacular, and interesting recreational areas in the United States are such places as Antietam National Battlefield, Cape Cod National Seashore, Death Valley National Monument, Yellowstone National Park, Everglades National Park, and Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. All these places are administered by the National Park Service, which has responsibility for 361 units containing about 80 million acres spread across the United States and its territories. Since many of these parks (including national parks, monuments, seashores, lakeshores, historic parks, and all other units managed by the National Park Service) have been in existence for decades, and seem to provide outstanding recreational value for millions of people each year at a nominal price, one may wonder why a discussion of national parks is important now. It is because the Park Service is increasingly unable to respond to the internal and external threats these special places face.
Threats to the national parks
Perhaps the most obvious threat to parks is the increasing numbers of users. In 1991, there were 268 million visitors, up 16 percent from the previous year; the number of visitors to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon doubles every five years. One only has to visit Yosemite National Park at the peak of summer, or Acadia or Great Smoky Mountains National Parks during the fall to see that not only is the quality of experience reduced, but the resources may be in jeopardy as well. Ozone from adjacent areas pollutes the air and affects tree growth in Sequoia National Park and reduces visibility in Grand Canyon National Park and reduces visibility in Grand Canyon National Park; Everglades National Park is threatened by loss of water and poor water quality; other parks are adversely affected by the spread of disease through wildlife or invading plants and animals. If global climate changes significantly, environmental conditions may no longer support the natural resources for which individual parks were initially established. Also, in some cases we are finding that as the area surrounding parks becomes increasingly dominated by human activities, the remaining "islands of habitat" are of insufficient size to maintain the genetic diversity of natural populations within the park boundaries. Thus, there are myriad threats to the parks, and only some of them are caused directly by park users.
It is, however, important to realize that most parks remain in excellent condition and are not in jeopardy.
Responsibility for U.S. national
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