National Park Service

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, July 2016; written by Lisa Pearson.

This August is the centennial anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service (NPS), and we have a variety of books at the library that celebrate this guardian of our nation’s natural and historical treasures. Along with the 59 national parks, the NPS also oversees national monuments (like the Lincoln Memorial), historic sites (like Harper’s Ferry) and significant buildings (like the White House). With over 400 locations under its jurisdiction, the NPS preserves and protects a great deal of America’s cultural resources.

Perhaps you are actively traveling to a national park this year (there are 8 national parks in Alaska, covering a combined area larger than the size of Florida). Or maybe you are more of an armchair traveler, looking for beautiful photographs and personal anecdotes. As a history buff, you might be more interested in the politics leading up to the creation of the park system or the National Park Service sites which figured prominently in American history. Whatever your perspective, try one of these titles this summer.

“The National Parks: an illustrated history” by Kim Heacox, has been published by National Geographic specifically to celebrate this centennial year. As befitting a National Geographic title, the photographs are stunning and many are taken from the National Geographic archives. Interspersed with the photos are interesting facts and anecdotes about some of the more prominent sites in the parks system, as well as an overview of how the Park Service’s mission and means of outreach has evolved over the years. Heacox, an award-winning author who lives in southeast Alaska, does a good job of covering a great deal of information in a very readable fashion.

Woodrow Wilson was the President who signed the Organic Act of 1916, which created the National Park Service, but a lot of the conservation groundwork was done by President Theodore Roosevelt. Historian and author Douglas Brinkley has written an extensive biography of Roosevelt as an environmental pioneer. “The Wilderness Warrior: Theodore Roosevelt and the crusade for America” details Roosevelt’s tenure as President, when he set aside more than 230 million acres of land in national forests, parks and reserves, such as the Grand Canyon, Petrified Forest, and Shoshone National Forest. He was profoundly influenced by his friendships with leading naturalists of the time, including John Muir, Gifford Pinchot and George Bird Grinnell.

“The hour of land: a personal topography of America’s national parks” is by acclaimed author Terry Tempest Williams. She recounts her experiences visiting a dozen NPS sites around the country, from Maine to Florida to California to Alaska. But with each chapter, her writing is about so much more than a recitation of wildlife seen and miles logged. She describes her trips in literary terms, and gives her emotional and intellectual reactions to the experiences of being in these places and their influence on America.

For those looking to visit a National Park themselves, we have the brand-new “Guide to National Parks of the United States, eighth edition”, published by National Geographic. Here you will find maps, hiking suggestions, park hours and camping information. A more in-depth guide is “Your guide to the National Parks” by Michael Joseph Oswald. In this book, Oswald presents possible activities for each park, such as horseback riding, backpacking, stargazing, rafting and ranger programs. Average temperature and precipitation information is very helpful, as is the hiking trail lengths and information about surrounding communities. The nicest features of this book are the suggested travel itineraries: 1-3 days for each park itself, and 7-10 day routes for seeing multiple parks in one vacation (perfect for those of us who are trying to see as much as possible during one of our brief forays off the island). Oswald’s book was published in 2012, but it is so helpful that it’s worth using to plan your next trip.

Even if you are not planning on celebrating the National Park Service centennial by visiting one their carefully preserved parks, monuments, recreation areas, seashores, historic sites, parkways, battlefields or reserves, you should definitely take the time to read more about this amazing institution and the work that has been done to protect the natural, cultural and historic treasures of our country.