National Park Overurbanization

President Woodrow Wilson signed a bill in 1916 that created the National Park Service. The National Park Service had the distinct roles of “conserving the scenery and national and historic objects and wildlife… [and] leaving [the parks] unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.” However, less than sixty years later, the protected lands were in danger of destruction. In 1972, specialists at the World Conference on National Parks stated that overcrowding and overurbanization threatened the role of national parks as safe havens for both animals and humans. Yellowstone was America’s first national park. It was established by Congress in 1872 in an effort to conserve America’s lands. The designated roles of national parks were as safe
A common idea that arose from the World Conference was the phasing out or complete outlawing of automobiles. One attendee of the Conference stated that “automobiles can destroy our national park heritage just as surely as they have desecrated much of the metropolitan countryside.” Another solution that was proposed was prohibiting the building of luxury hotels, golf courses, and other unnecessary urban buildings within park boundaries. This would eliminate the destruction of park lands and decrease overurbanization. The World Conference officials and specialists discussed other ways to keep national park lands safe as well. They debated the construction of more day areas instead of overnight campgrounds and the use of permits to control visitor population. These solutions would limit the number of people in the national parks at a given time and also decrease the amount of pollution to hopefully protect the parks in the long
Over six days, they discussed the importance of national parks and how to protect them for future generations. They debated several solutions such as the banning of automobiles, prohibiting the building of tourist facilities within park boundaries, and the use of permits. These people all believed in what Stewart Udall stated in his concluding paragraph, “we cannot save the parks unless we slow down and listen for the subtle rhythms of nature.” Only then could the national parks of the world be