America's National Parks: The Case for Doing Them Properly

America's National Parks: The Case for Doing Them Properly The national park system of the United States is one of the great ideas this country has ever had — that certain landscapes should be held in common, protected from development, preserved for all people and all future generations. Yellowstone: The Oldest and Still the Most Astonishing Yellowstone was established in 1872, the first national park in the world. It sits atop a supervolcano responsible for the geysers, hot springs, mud pots, and fumaroles that make the park's landscape so alien. The wildlife is the other revelation — bison herds numbering in the thousands, grizzlies, and since the wolves were reintroduced in 1995, a wolf population whose recovery is one of the most celebrated conservation stories of the past thirty years. Seeing wolves in Yellowstone requires patience, good binoculars, and a guide in daily contact with the wolf watchers who track the packs. We know those guides. Utah's Parks Zion, Bryce Canyon, Arches, and Canyonlands together make the case that the American Southwest is one of the most geologically spectacular places on earth. Zion Narrows — hiking through a slot canyon in a river — is one of the most unusual physical experiences available in American travel. Bryce Canyon's hoodoos at sunrise, when the light comes sideways and the formations glow orange and red, is the photograph that doesn't do justice to being there. The Conservation Imperative The parks are under pressure. Climate change is altering the ecosystems. Visitor numbers have increased dramatically. The best response is not to stay away but to visit responsibly: go in shoulder seasons, stay on trails, hire local guides, support gateway communities. These places belong to everyone. Experiencing them well is both a personal privilege and a public responsibility.