A Half Century and a Full Century of Parks Carol's editorial

Wednesday, December 30

2016 marks the Centennial for the National Park Service, and coincidentally it is the 50^th anniversary of Cape Lookout National Seashore (CALO). On March 10, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation creating CALO. In his remarks at that signing, he said,

A few months ago I stated that the clear water and the warm sandy beaches of our coastline are our Nation's real treasure, but I also observed that this kind of a treasure is not always secure. The question that many times faces us is: Will it be owned by a handful of the wealthy people, or will we preserve it for the pleasure of every American?

Will it be strewn with broken glass and rusting cans and commercialized beyond recognition, or will we leave a part of it as God created it and as man found it? 

 

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established. This "Organic Act" states that

the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations…by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.

Clearly the intent of the national parks, whether here at Cape Lookout National Seashore, or any other of the 400+ scattered across the United States, is to “conserve” the environment to ensure a legacy for future generations. The irony of it all is that parks are faced with major challenges in their efforts to meet that intent. For example, more and more Americans are flocking to our national parks. “The number of recreational visits to national parks in 2014 – a whopping 292.8 million – exceeded 2013's total by more than 19 million” (Winter, 2015, issue of National Parks, the magazine of the National Parks Conservation Association). While park attendance is soaring, and that's terrific, funding for parks continues to slow, reducing staff and maintenance.

We see these effects on a day to day basis. But CALO staff, as staff at each of the parks we have worked, continue to work hard to ensure a good visit for all - “conserving” the environment to ensure a legacy for the future. Visit a national park this centenary year of 2016.

.

.