NATIONAL PARKS

Evening Post, Volume CXX, Issue 138, 7 December 1935, Page 8

NATIONAL PARKS

NEED FOR SAFEGUARDS

PROTECTION OF NATURE

METHODS IN AMERICA

(Written for "The Post" by A. F. T. Chorlton.)

With the spread of the open-air movement and the exodus of the people at holiday time greatly facilitated by the convenience of modern transport, it is possible that, without adequate safeguards, the benefit to health by communion with Nature may be found to have been dearly bought at the cost of Nature herself. In New Zealand easier public access to surviving tracts of native bush has resulted in the destruction of much that constitutes its peculiar charm, its bird life, and wild flowers. Forest fires kindled by careless visitors play havoc with the bush itself. Commercialism, with its advertising hoardings, its unsightly small buildings, out of harmony with the surroundings, completes the disillusionment. It is reported that structures of this kind are already encroaching on the Hollyford Valley Road, which will ultimately open up the finest scenery in the Doiminion round Milford Sound. And this has taken place on Crown land, and, it is understood, without the permission of the State authorities. Whether the Government has power to stop this and other kinds of vandalism I do not know, but if American tourists come to visit New Zealand in large numbers,. as they are expected to do when the new trans-Pacific air service begins, they are sure to pass most unfavourable comment of the way we run our national parks and scenic resorts compared with theirs, for the Federal National Parks of the United States are an object lesson to the world and have been taken as a model by many other countries. It is in the hope that something may be done to improve our own National Park system and safeguard a national heritage for coming generations that the establishment of a National Park Service on the American plan is urged. AMERICA'S PARKS. The object of National Parks, as set out in the original Act of Congress, is:— To conserve the scenery and natural beauty, historic objects, and wild life, and to provide for the full enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations. In pursuance of this object no considerations of commercialism enter into the creation and administration of these parks, of which there are twentytwo under Federal control in various parts of the United States. The major function of the National Park is the promotion of wellbeing through the health-giving qualities of relaxation and recreation in pure air amid surroundings of natural beauty and grandeur. To achieve this object the administration of park areas, "dedicated and set apart for the benefit and enjoyment of all the people," was placed in 1916 in the hands of the National Park Service, with headquarters at Washington, where policy matters are decided, detailed estimates prepared, and full accounts kept. Each of the twenty-two parks is in charge of a local superintendent who resides in the park and is responsible to Washington for everything done within his particular area. In the smaller parks the superintendent may have only a small staff of rangers to assist him, but in the larger parks, such as Yosemite and Yellowstone, exceding 1000 square miles in area, he has not only an adequate staff of rangers and ranger-naturalists; but also the permanent services of specialists such as landscape architects and engineers. As soon as the boundaries of the park are fixed by statute—Fiordland would be a good New Zealand example —a detailed survey of the whole area is made by the park superintendent, the engineers, and the landscape architects, the duty of the last-named being to preserve the natural beauty of the mountain, forest, lake, and waterfall, and yet to bring them within the reach of the millions who visit the parks every year. The engineers are concerned purely with the problems of construction and cost.- A master plan is then prepared, and on it marked the general scheme of development. The details are then worked out for items such as roads, bridges, parking areas, camping grounds, trails, and the necessary buildings. With buildings the principle is followed that they shall be as inconspicuous as possible, and yet provide the maximum of scenic outlook. They should be built of local materials and their design should harmonise with the surroundings. One of the problems is the accommodation of the visiting public. In the Yosemite National Park, where I spent some weeks, over ten thousand people were within an area of eight square miles, yet so excellent was the lay-out of the motor camps that one would not have imagined that there were' as many hundreds. These camps, which are free, have privacy in the woods out of sight of the roadways and out of earshot of the noise of cars.. Each camp is in charge of a resident ranger. All have free water laid on, free electric light, sanitary conveniences, rubbish bins, fireplaces, and generally free firewood. The camps and grounds are kept spotlessly clean by the campers, who respect the privileges and facilities afforded. Even the free firewood was not used extravagantly. Other accommodation of a more elaborate kind is provided by a single company under Government franchise and control. The same licensed authority also runs barbers' shops, laundries, and a very large general store and meat markets at prices little higher than the cheapest in Los Angeles and San Francisco. THE FEDERAL PARK SERVICE. Perhaps the most admirable feature of the National Park system is its ranger and guide-naturalist service. The whole of the Nature preservation work is in the hands of the ranger force, headed by the chief ranger. There is a permanent all-year nucleus of the force, and a large temporary addition, mainly from the universities, to handle the increased work of the tourist season. All the ranger positions are filled by Civil Service examination, and so popular is the work at the present time that an A.B. degree is practically essential. The mam duties of the rangers are the protection of the wild life of the park, the flora and fauna, fish culture, planting, supervision of camp grounds, and general enforcement of the rules and regulations of the park. The rangers in the Yosemite and the other National Parks in the West I visited in the course of a two months' tour, in which I studied the system closely, are the most courteous and obliging officials I ever met, not even excepting the London policemen. The guidenaturalists form a special branch of the ranger service. Specially trained in the natural science and in handling people, they conduct parties over the park trails and give informal talks by the camp-fire in the evenings, or in ,the park museum, a sort of index to the park, itself a.. living .museum of

Nature. Such is the care taken and the spirit of the service that wild life flourishes unafraid of man. This explains how I came to wake up one morning to find a bear with me as companion by the camp-fire. The trumpeter swan, once considered practically extinct, is now abundant in the Yellowstone Park. It may be asked where does the money come from for the upkeep of the parks and the maintenance of these services. A small charge is made on entering a park, and this for the three million or more people who visit the parks every year, plus the franchise fees paid by the company previously mentioned, with revenue from other sources, brings up the total income to about £200,000 a year. I do not know whether this meets all expenses, but it must go a considerable way towards it. WORK OF THE C.C.C. In a previous article mention was made of the valuable work done by the Civilian Conservation Corps of otherwise unemployed men of from 18 to 25 years. It was President Roosevelt's own suggestion that they should be given interesting and useful occupation in the improvement of the National Parks. The scheme has been found to work admirably. It is the hope of the National Park Service that the best of the C.C.C. men may find a career in the conservation of the beauties of the National Parks. There might be possibilities of this kind for the younger unemployed men in New Zealand. , It is quite clear that what has made the American National Parks the success they are is the National Park Service. There is no such service in New Zealand, and no provision for it under the Act, which is deficient in other respects also. There is nothing to stop bowsers being set up ana fires lighted along public roads through National Parks—public roads and roadsides being expressly excluded from the jurisdiction of the park boards. Other abuses are growing up. New National Parks will have to be set up in the Fiords district and round Mt. Cook. Just now the very right of public access to' Mount Cook is challenged and legal action may be necessary to abolish, it. There is a great deal of work for the Government to do before the position of New Zealand's wonderlands can be deemed satisfactory. Nothing so elaborate as the American plan may be needed, but some sort of park service is absolutely essential.