The Political Geography of National Parks

Abstract

Many national parks contain private lands and non-park economic functions that can interfere with management purposes. The number and variety of these "threats" depend on the degree to which the boundary of a new park encloses previously settled lands and economic development. Yellowstone is the only example of a major park established before European American settlement; it is largely free of inholdings and non-park uses. By contrast, Glacier National Park, founded in 1910, and Mojave National Preserve, created in 1994, unavoidably incorporated private lands and previous uses. Despite vigorous National Park Service efforts to eliminate them, many remain, and even those removed have left a landscape legacy. The temporal and spatial relationships shown by these latter parks exemplify those found throughout the national park system and suggest parallels with the political creation of nation-states.

Why Do So Few Minority People Visit National Parks? Visitation and the Accessibility of “America's Best Idea”

“…The units of the national park system are among the most diverse set of places to be found within the United States, varying tremendously in size, physical geography, land use, management objectives, and cultural significance (Dilsaver 2005;Dilsaver and Wyckoff 2005). Although the "Crown Jewels" remain the great outdoor parks such as the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Yosemite, almost 400 other places preserve smaller landscapes or natural features such as Rainbow Bridge NM or the unique flora of Organ Pipe Cactus NM.…”

Historical Landscape Change in Yellowstone National Park: Demonstrating the Value of Intensive Field Observation and Repeat Photography

“…National parks commemorate, preserve, and tell the story of people, places, and things deemed noteworthy to the country as a whole, and scholars have studied parks collectively and individually. Geographers and historians have described national park politics (Dilsaver and Wyckoff , ), tourism (Dilsaver ; Young ; Blodgett ; Youngs ), and the use of imagery in the process of place making (Wyckoff and Dilsaver ). Geographers also focus on national parks as case studies for exploring changing ideas about transportation and cultural landscapes (Youngs ), hidden landscapes of environmental management (Colten and Dilsaver ), and as examples of practicing sustainability (Meyer , ; Smith, Karosic, and Smith ).…”

Human-provided waters for desert wildlife: what is the problem?

“…BLM and USFWS wilderness areas were designated in Arizona and California during 1990 and 1994, respectively; NPS jurisdictions were expanded in California, also in 1994, principally in the form of Mojave National Preserve and additions to Death Valley National Park; and Ironwood Forest and Sonoran Desert National Monuments were created by administrative fiat on BLM lands in Arizona during 2000 and 2001, respectively. Through the offices of sympathetic national-level politicians, these prescriptions shifted management priorities on large areas of federal lands from traditional anthropocentric goals to newer ecocentric ones, although a focus on ''science-based'' management remained (Hamin 2003;Dilsaver and Wyckoff 2005).…”