Dain Ziegler
2/12/12
National parks are some of the last truly wild tracts of land in our country and we need to keep it that way. With the United States continued growth and urbanization, more people have less of a connection with their natural surroundings and nature in general, but the National Parks Service is here to help. With approximately 83.6 million acres of protected land and nearly 400 sites in all the states except Delaware, there is plenty of opportunity for people to experience the parks.
These opportunities are not just great for the people experiencing them, but also for our economy. In 2010 there were 281 million visits to our parks which employ 258,400 people and contribute $16.6 billion in value to the national economy according to the National Park Service website. With parks in nearly every state, many of which are rural, provide opportunities for local communities to make more money than they could have without the parks. Visitors staying outside of the parks in hotels, cabins, and bed and breakfasts accounted for over 50 percent of the total spending (approximately $12 billion) in park regions. This is a lot of extra cash for our country and all we have to do is not ruin our pristine natural areas. Besides the 258,400 national park employees there are tens of thousands of jobs created outside the parks including restaurants, bars, lodging, retail and trade, and amusement type jobs that are integral to the surrounding communities.
These parks provide a lot to our country not only economically, but also in wonderment. Presidents (Teddy Roosevelt), naturalists (Muir and Thoreau), as well as kids and adults have all been inspired by National Parks, and I happen to be one of those people. As a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point I signed up for a couple summer courses one being the mandatory Treehaven camp and the other was Biology 309: Field Ecology of the Pacific Coast & Great Basin Desert. Before taking this course I had only been to Badlands, and Mt. Rushmore National Parks. Now I have been to many more including the Redwoods National Park, Caters of the Moon, Yellowstone, as well as the Great Basin Desert, Cascade forests, and intertidal coasts. This trip was life changing and made me really learn to appreciate all the differences that our country has to offer.
These parks offer experiences that people can hardly find nowadays, and I think that everyone should have the chance to experience. Many parks don’t have entry fees but if they do they are generally less than $15, and if you intend on visiting many parks an annual pass can be purchased for $80 and allows for three accompanying adults and anyone less than 15 years old. The National Parks are some of our last wilderness areas and they need to be kept that way and it is up to the people to do so.
4 comments:
America's Natural Park system is one of the best thing about this country. I have always hated to see the destruction that goes on in our woodlands and think we always need to preserve some of what our Earth has naturally created for us.
Jesse Servais
I like the thought of all the information, but could use a lot more personalizing. This would allow for more personal interest and what you like about national parks. Then you can reach your readers at a whole new level. Other than that, I like the topic with the idea of protecting national parks.
Tacklebox- For this blog I was trying to highlight what ELSE the parks can bring the public besides asthetics and experiences. The parks have greatly changed my life but my experiences are relatively limited and weren't my focus for this blog.
Great that you had an opportunity that affected you so! Keep visiting!
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