USES OF NATURAL AREAS 



21 



1820 sq. mi. In addition to these, 

 there are 7 national military parks and 

 3 monuments administered by the War 

 Department, and 13 national monuments 

 administered by the Department of 

 Agriculture . 



A national park is created by act of 

 Congress, and j^early appropriations 

 made thereafter for its upkeep and 

 development. A national monument is 

 set aside by presidential proclamation; 

 no direct provision is made for its 

 development. Small yearly appropria- 

 tions are now granted by Congress for 

 protection and maintenance of the 

 national monuments. National monu- 

 ments are often, though not always, of 

 lesser importance and smaller area than 

 national parks. Areas of extreme im- 

 portance in remote areas are sometimes 

 set aside as monuments and later the 

 status changed to park. This was true 

 of the Grand Canyon and of Zion Can- 

 yon. The desired object — preservation 

 — is accomplished in the establishment of 

 the monument. A number of the na- 

 tional monuments have been established 

 to preserve relics of archaeological and 

 historical interest, as Montezuma Castle 

 and Gran Quivira; others, as Muir 

 Woods and Rainbow Bridge, preserve 

 natural features. 



National monuments administered bj' 

 the Department of Agriculture, as 

 Mount Olympus, are situated in national 

 forests. That is, they are reservations 

 within national forests, where natural 

 conditions are to be preserved. 



The integrity of the national parks 

 has been attacked time and time again. 

 Desire of commercial exploitation of 

 water resources for power and irrigation 

 projects, of grazing resources, and of 

 timber, by local interests more con- 

 cerned in their own financial advance- 

 ment than in the interests of the Nation, 

 must constantly be combated. 



The act of Congress in 1916 establish- 

 ing the National Park Service, was a 

 distinct step in advance. In this act is 

 contained the following statement: 



The service thus established shall 

 promote and regulate the use of the 



Federal areas known as national parks, 

 monuments, and rcKorvations herein- 

 after specified by such means and meas- 

 ures as conform to the fundamental 

 purpose of the said parks, monuments, 

 and reservations, which purpose is to 

 conserve the scenery and the natural 

 and historic objects and the wild life 

 therein and to provide for the enjoy- 

 ment of the same in such manner and by 

 such means as will leave them unim- 

 paired for the enjoyment of future 

 generations. 



As Congress still has the power to 

 modify park boundaries, and to grant 

 easements within the park boundaries, 

 it behooves the citizens of the United 

 States, to whom the parks belong, to 

 take an interested part in all questions 

 relating to our national parks, and to 

 express their disapproval of any plan 

 violating the purpose for which the 

 parks and monuments were created. 



Irrigation and water power interests 

 have made the most insistent demands 

 for utilization of park resources. Yel- 

 lowstone, Glacier, and Yqsemite have 

 been attacked. The Sherburne irriga- 

 tion reservoir at Glacier and the de- 

 struction of the Iletch Iletchy Valley in 

 Yosemite, should be an object lesson in 

 the results of irrigation and water power 

 developments. The amendment of the 

 Federal water-power act (March, 1921), 

 which removed the national parks and 

 monuments already established from the 

 operation of the provisions of the water- 

 power act, makes difficult but not im- 

 possible, future projects of this sort. 

 A bill now pending calls for the erection 

 of a dam across the Yellowstone River, 

 which will raise the level of Lake Yel- 

 lowstone, thus flooding surrounding 

 land. 



Grazing concessions present a question 

 of great importance. While djunage 

 inflicted by grazing is not as irreparable 

 as that produced by the buililing of 

 dams, it is nevertheless very serious. 

 Natural reproduction of trees and other 

 plants is hindered or prevented; erosion 

 is favored. Herbaceous growth is most 

 affected, which means that the flower 

 display is curtailed or entirely wiped 

 out. The fodder of native grazing 



