WHAT IS A NATIONAL PARK?

 

National Parks are large areas of public land set aside for native plants, and animals. They also protect places of natural beauty. In other words, national parks are there to preserve wildlife and for people’s enjoyment. If there weren't such things as national parks, people would build big buildings and houses with all that land and that area would not longer be protecting wildlife and looking pretty. National parks are protected by the federal government so that the land stays protected and encourages people to protect our land.

 

Yellowstone was the first national park created. It became a national park because many people were coming to see Yellowstone. People thought it was so gorgeous that the wanted to live there. But if this happened, the beauty of Yellowstone would be destroyed. Yellowstone could not become a state park because it was in an area that had not been granted statehood, which meant that it could not become a state park. Congress knew they had to do something so they decided to call it a national park where no one could settle in that land. In 1872 Yellowstone was issued a national park by an act of Congress. Later they had The National Park System Organic Act which created the Park Service which set the purpose of the Park System: “To conserve the scenery and natural and historical objects and wildlife to provide enjoyment for the people”.

 

The Park System includes: national monuments, seashores, recreation areas, historic sites, military parks, battlefields and other designated sites. Today, the National Park System covers more than 83 million acres. Also, there are 58 National Parks in the USA. The National Park Service has been around since 1916.

 

Some people get national parks confused with state parks but there are many differences between the two. State parks belong to the state and national parks belong to the country. Another difference is that a national park will offer the best protection for the environment. National parks are protected by the federal government whereas state parks are not. National parks are mostly used by visitors. They are popular vacation spots. Not as many visitors come to state parks. National parks are very important, because without national parks, many beautiful sites would be destroyed.  

 

Not just any area of land can become a National Park. National parks have certain qualities and requirement that the land fulfills. There are a lot of gorgeous areas that are not national parks. National parks must have an ecosystem that has not been materially altered by development. This is basically saying that national parks can not have any human development on the land. Though there are, of course, exceptions for this. There can be a visitors center and activities to do and such, but the main plot of land cannot be altered.

 

The land must also either offer scientific, recreational, or educational value or be an area of great natural beauty. Admittedly, this is pretty vague because there are different definitions of great natural beauty and scientific, recreational and educational value. But as proved in the past, the definition is pretty consistent, and there isn’t a national park that exists that doesn't have value. The national park must also have at least 2,471 acres of land, but there have been many exceptions of this in the past. To be a national park, natural resources must not be exploited. Some exceptions for this are fishing and maintenance, but all of this is strictly controlled. There also must be a staff and a budget to provide for the lands protection. All national parks always have rangers which connects to the fact that it is important for there to be a staff and budget for a national park. The number of rangers and what their specific duties are depend on the size of the park and how many visitors it receives.

 

 

One of the most important criteria of a national park is that the public has access to it. A national park belongs to its people so people must be allowed to visit. In some national parks there are restricted sections where visitors cannot go, but simply look at the view, because the area it to dangerous or fragile. Some national parks are located in areas that are difficult to access so they receive fewer visitors but in general, national parks are always open to the public.