I share a belief that the 391 units of the National Park System represent American ideas, history, and geography at its finest and that its resources merit the love most Americans and millions of foreign guests bestow on them. My book reflects my love for the parks--all of them--but it also highlights real problems faced by the parks and by the dedicated National Park Service employees who care for them. The parks are the object of many adverse forces, some obvious, some hidden. The needs of the parks are often characterized as simply more money and more staff. Money and staff are important, and needed, but the reality is that the problems are often more complicated than just more money and more staff. In my book I discuss several of those problems.
However, in my opinion the greatest danger the National Park System faces is a complacent public that takes the System for granted and makes no effort actively to defend what has been widely characterized as America's finest original idea--National Parks.
Long-dormant, but powerful, forces in Congress and elsewhere, have launched wide ranging attacks on the integrity of the parks--recent Democratic Party election successes notwithstanding. For example, the extension of so-called "partnerships" with private parties and companies threatens the integrity of many sites. Commercial sponsorships inevitably erode the common, shared heritage of this great national institution. No park should ever be closed and none needs to be identified with soda pop, film, or a sport utility vehicle. Businesses rarely donate money to anyone or anything without the expectation that they are getting something tangible for their money. Such expectations need not be put in writing or even conveyed verbally. The process is far more subtle than that and most businesses can afford to frame such expectations in a long time frame. The privatization and commodification of America's commonwealth is a creeping menace, not only for parks but for many areas of everyday life.
The parks merit a strong, informed defense against all the forces that would destroy or compromise them. The Bush Administration seeks to tamper with the internal administration of the National Park Service, some of it in the name of the war on terrorism. One way it does that is through a process to outsource Park Service jobs to private sector companies--an option driven largely by ideology rather than any goal to improve public services or reduce costs. Costs, in particular, almost universally go up when the work shifts to the private sector.
The threat of privatization and commercialization of parks or parts of parks remains a serious on-going threat to the integrity of the National Park System. Though the private operation of some visitor accommodations such as concessions has a long, albeit mixed, history in the parks, the Bush Administration has attempted to bring even more commerce into the parks. Many park superintendents, seeing the deterioration of park infrastructure and facilities and little or no hope of receiving budget increases to address critical needs, have powerful motivations to solicit private funding--for which donors routinely expect some form of lasting recognition.
The current Federal budget contains a significant amount of new money for park operations. However, the money is not really "new" because it has merely been shifted out of the construction budget and other non-operational accounts. The budget is something of a shell game with the clear intention of leading the public (and some park employees) to believe that President Bush has finally delivered on the promises he has made to fund the National Park System and reduce the backlog of maintenance and infrastructure repair and replacement.
New or amended regulations and policies seriously threaten the integrity of many parks, such as the continued use of snowmobiles in Yellowstone. Numerous recent scientific studies have confirmed beyond any doubt the harmful effects of snowmobiles on air quality, on the resources within the park, and on the quality of the park experience itself. Noisy, polluting snowmobiles do not belong in Yellowstone National Park. There are numerous alternative locations at which snowmobiles can be operated. This conflict is a classic example of problems that emerge and because they are not dealt with immediately, become harder and harder to resolve.
Similar problems involve off-road vehicles in many park areas, such uses often having become common even before some parks were created. Once in the park, it is practically impossible to remove them, or in many instances, even to put a cap on their numbers. Personal watercraft are another intrusive use posing noise, pollution, and safety hazards. Managing reasonable restraints on motorized recreation outlets is a continuing controversy in many parks.
Relaxed air quality standards at older power plants, particularly in the Southwest and in the airshed of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, threaten long term damage to trees, plants, and irreplaceable cultural resources.
Funding promised by candidate George W. Bush in 2000 and 2004, and promised again as President, to eliminate a large backlog of repair, maintenance and infrastructure improvements has lagged far behind need. With a skyrocketing federal deficit and debt, such funding seems unlikely. President Bush has, however, given his support to planning for the National Park Centennial in 2016. Perhaps that will lead to increased funding and staff--at least that which planning for such a momentous event would involve.
To my knowledge the subject of the national parks has not been mentioned by any of the candidates for President during the 2008 Presidential campaign..
The 2016 Centennial ought to involve more than a slick new four-color publication. The time between now and 2016 could be used to catch up on long-neglected jobs to repair, rehabilitate, and add to the systems that nurture the natural and cultural resources in the parks, and the rejuvenation of the Ranger programs and services that enrich the experiences of park visitors. Such actions will require that Congress step up to its responsibilities to provide the financial wherewithal to accomplish those objectives under a revitalized oversight by both the Senate and House of Representatives. If you agree, let your Senators and Representative know how you feel.
Tight budgets make efficient and effective administration--a major theme in my book--even more important.
For the answers to a number of the most Frequently Asked Questions about the National Park System click here.
If you would like to know more, check out my book, and the article that follows about the integrity of the park system:
If you reached my Home Page by a search on the Rettie family surname or on the word "Tarwathie" and have an interest in Rettie family history or "Tarwathie," check out the Rettie Family Tree now under construction. We are especially pleased to hear from other Retties anywhere in the world or from people interested in the word "Tarwathie."
I have added to this web site a classic essay written in 1948 by my father James C. Rettie. More details about him and the essay are available in a Note at the end of the essay. The title of the essay is "But a Watch in the Night," and it tells the story of the evolution of planet earth for the last 750 million years in the form of a time-lapse motion picture, taken at the rate of 1 frame each year, and displayed at the normal rate of 24 frames per second. The movie thus created will be shown beginning at midnight on New Years Eve and proceed twenty-four hours a day for all of the next year. The essay describes what a viewer might see on such a film as the evolution of the earth progresses. To access the essay click here.
Also added to this Home Page is a link to the product of an adult education class I took at the Unitarian Coastal Fellowship. Being a lifelong Unitarian, I have never spent a lot of time reading or studying the Bible, except to satisfy myself that it is a great collection of ancient stories containing the essence of the Judeo-Christian tradition. Our minister, Rev. Sally White, taught an eight-week course on the Bible which I attended and enjoyed. The class spent about half the course on the Book of Genesis, in the course of which I learned there are actually two versions of the creation story there, though only one is usually known. At the end of our study of Genesis, Rev. White asked each member of the class to go home and write their own version of the Book of Genesis. I found it a major challenge, but an exceedingly interesting and rewarding one. To read my Genesis story Click Here.
The melody you may be hearing in the background (some browsers do not pick it up) is the tune associated with the sea chantey "Farewell to Tarwathie," a poem written by George Scroggie and published in 1857 in a collection of his poems called The Peasant's Lyre. The tune is said to have been a popular one in the 1850s. For more about the name Tarwathie and its association with my family, click on The Rettie Family Tree.
A PERFECT MARTINI AND A GREAT OLD FASHIONED!
What follows is just a fun link--to one version of a perfect martini and a great holiday Old Fashioned. To access the recipes, click here.
Photo by Tez DeJesus.
[Site last updated 11/27/08)