22 



NATURALIST'S GUIDE TO THE AMERICAS 



animals, as deer and elk, may be reduced 

 to the point where survival in periods of 

 extreme drought or in severe winters 

 may be difficult. And last, but not 

 least, sanitation is affected and the 

 water supply may be impaired. That 

 grazing has affected the appearance of 

 the Grand Canyon National Park is 

 evident from the report of the Director 

 of National Park Service for 1923. 

 "The park floral display below the 

 rims of the canyon is extremely varied 

 and beautiful in successive seasons, but 

 the lack of such display on the rims is 

 largely due to cattle grazing." Sheep 

 grazing is prohibited in all national 

 parks; cattle grazing is permitted in 

 some areas. 



The national parks and monuments 

 comprise only one-third of one per cent 

 of the total area of our country. "Cer- 

 tainly as a Nation we are rich enough to 

 preserve from spoliation such a small 

 amount of native America intact for the 

 enjojonent of posterity." 



National parks and monuments differ 

 radically from national forests. The 

 parks and monuments are intended to be 

 true preserves, where every effort should 

 be made to maintain natural conditions. 

 Timber cutting and grazing are not 

 permitted except in certain instances 

 and should be wholly prohibited. Hunt- 

 ing, except predatory animals, and 

 removal of any natural object by visitors 

 is prohibited, except that a certain 

 amount of angling is permitted. The 

 addition to any national park of plants 

 or animals which are not native should 

 not be permitted, for the addition of 

 foreign plants or animals would cer- 

 tainly not be in keeping with one of the 

 established purposes of the parks and 

 monuments — the conserving of the wild 

 life therein- — which should be inter- 

 preted to mean native wild life. This 

 question has been considered by the 

 Ecological Society of America (see 

 "Resolutions," Ecology, vol. Ill: 170). 

 The national forests, on the other hand, 

 are a valuable measure toward con- 

 servation, not complete preservation, 

 except in limited areas. Cutting of 



mature timber is permitted, and thus the 

 composition of the forest is changed. 

 Tree planting is resorted to improve the 

 stands, or to increase the percentage of 

 commercially desirable trees; hunting 

 is permitted; grazing is general, even to 

 the point of over grazing. Outside 

 activities in the national forests are 

 regulated by the Forest Service. Thus, 

 while the national forests are great 

 conservers of our national resources, 

 it is in our national parks and monu- 

 ments that natural conditions are best 

 maintained at present. 



The national parks policy, as an- 

 nounced in 1918, and reaffirmed recently 

 by Secretary Work, should maintain 

 our parks as the preserves of wild life 

 that they now are. Its three funda- 

 mental prnciples are: "First, that the 

 national parks must be maintained in 

 absolutely unimpaired form for the use 

 of future generations as well as those of 

 our own time; second, that they are set 

 apart for the use, observation, health, 

 and pleasure of the people; and third, 

 that the national interest must dictate all 

 decisions affecting public or private en- 

 terprise in the parks." 



Following is a list of national parks 

 and monuments, arranged in order of 

 date of establishment. Descriptions of 

 most of these will be found in the state 

 accounts; the distinctive features of the 

 less important are given here.^ 



NATIONAL PARKS ADMINISTERED BY THE 

 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE 



Hot Springs, Arkansas; 1832; 1| sq. mi.; 



46 hot springs. 

 Yellowstone, Wyoming, Montana, and 



Idaho; 1872; 3348 sq. mi.; Wyo., 



page 532. 

 Sequoia, California; 1890; 252 sq. mi.; 



Calif., page 197. 

 Yosemite, California; 1890; 1125 sq. mi.; 



Calif., page 197. 

 General Grant, California; 1890; 4 sq. 



mi.; Calif., page 197. 

 Mount Rainier. Washington; 1899; 324 



sq. mi.; Calif., page 175. 

 Crater Lake, Oregon; 1902; 249 sq. 



mi.; Ore., page 191. 



1 All quotations from Seventh Annual Report of 

 Director of National Park Service. 1923. 



