For the last six months, I have written glowing reviews on various National Parks. My wife Pam and I have camped in and thoroughly enjoyed touring at most of these beautiful reserves. Their scenic beauty and outdoors opportunities are superb without question. However, I have been greatly disappointed with many of the parks campgrounds and camping facilities. Why can, one might ask, so many of America's state parks provide excellent, first-class and even full-service campgrounds and facilities, while our treasured National Parks offer us so little? Is the National Park Service (NPS) providing you and me the "excellent service" that its guiding principles declare? These are questions that annoy and even trouble me--how about you?
A bit of background
Yellowstone was established as our first National Park in 1872, but it was not until 1916 that the National Park Service was enacted. Today, the Park Service manages 378 areas (parks, monuments and such) across the United States and on its territories. The NPS is a huge bureaucracy that is under the direction of the United States Department of Interior. (The National Forest Service falls under the U.S. Department of Agriculture.) Under the National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C 1, the Park Service was charged with promoting and regulating America's parks, so as to conserve the scenery, natural and historic objects and the wildlife; the purpose being to provide enjoyment for us and future generations.
In 1967, Congress established the National Park Foundation (NPF) to serve as a non-profit corporation and a partner of the NPS. Its board consists of the Secretary of the Interior (Chairman), the Director of the National Park Service (Secretary) and six private citizens (appointed by the Secretary of the Interior). Its mission is to raise private gifts of real and personal property-mainly from businesses. Some of its current major contributors include Toyota, GE and MCI. Monies to operate and maintain our National Parks come from our tax dollars and these private donations. Congress decides how many of our tax dollars go to the NPS. Also, across the nation, a host of groups, organizations and individuals volunteer their time, sweat and money for the betterment of our Parks.
The only private non-profit citizens group to act as a watchdog over our parks, the NPS and the NPF is the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA). This organization was founded in 1919 and has a current membership of 400,000 concerned citizens. The NPCA is dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the U.S. National Park System. As such, it is a grass roots movement that operates on donations from its members.
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3.
Oct 12, 1999 10:09 PM
Thanks Vern and to you too BWeeks! I too worry about privatization measures in our National Parks. I belong to the National Park Conservation Association< ...
-- posted by Tom_Stephens
2.
Oct 12, 1999 9:30 PM
Tom, Enjoyed your article. I have to say that my experiences at the Nat'l parks we have visited have been very positive. Some Nat'l Park CG's like Crater Lake and Mesa Verde offer showers (if you wa ...
-- posted by BWeeks
1.
Oct 12, 1999 1:49 PM
Tom, your article on the National Park Service's camping facilities is well thought out and researched and may cover the ones in your part of the nation (the west), but doesn't address conditions ever ...
-- posted by Vern
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