National Park Research Paper

In 1872, the United Sates Congress established the first national park. The primary reason behind the legislation of national parks is to preserve areas unmodified by humans. However, many speculations about the benefits of national parks exist due to the appropriation of Native Americans, tourism, and ecological factors. Yellowstone National Park, however, is more than just preserved nature. Throughout history, it has become a representation of national pride, identity, and culture. National parks evoke an aesthetic experience with both the picturesque and sublime while providing a common ground for all people to appreciate. It is argued that national parks are fundamental to America. But, did the establishment of national parks promote an
Also, national parks tend to separate nature from humanity. In “The Trouble with Wilderness: Or, Getting Back to the Wrong Nature”, Cronon addresses the problem with only preserving specific areas of wilderness. He says, “Far from being the one place on earth that stands apart from humanity, it is quite profoundly a human creation – indeed, the creation of very particular human cultures at very particular moments in human history.” Wilderness is not authentic, just as national parks are not authentic. They are domesticated versions of what America wants nature to represent. For instance, national parks were meant to be an escape from “industrial modernity”, but they are not natural. They are created and just as constructed as any other part of humanity. Also national parks create the notion that in order to appreciate nature you have to travel to these areas designated as ‘real’ nature. “Wilderness gets us into trouble only if we imagine that this experience of wonder and otherness is limited to the remote corners of the planet.” By only appreciating certain aspects of nature such as national parks, the idea that, in nature, everything is wild and beautiful is