THE NATIONAL PARKS AND NATIONAL MONUMENTS 



By ROBERT MARSHALL, Collaborator 



SIGNIFICANCE OF PARK FORESTS 



The national parks of the United States proper contain more than 

 4 million acres of forest, which is less than 1 percent of the forested 

 acreage of the country. A goodly share of these stands are slow 

 growing and on inaccessible sites. From a commodity standpoint, 

 therefore, they are of little significance. Because so many of them 

 are located near the headwaters of important rivers or in very moun- 

 tainous country, they have a great significance in the regulation of 

 stream flow and the prevention of erosion. All animal life is protected 

 and consequently national parks are among the most important 

 game refuges in the country. Their primary value is recreational 

 and educational. Many of the finest scenic features in all America 

 are included in the national park system. 



Consequently, the national parks, although they only embrace 

 about one third of the forest area so far set aside for recreational use, 

 are usually distinguished in the American mind as the acme of forest 

 beauty. This reputation has been earned by the high standards 

 which have generally been maintained in the establishment of national 

 parks. With few exceptions the national parks are confined to areas 

 sufficiently magnificent to attract to them people from all over the 

 country. With few exceptions each exhibits the finest example of 

 some particular type of outdoor beauty. In most cases they contain 

 primitive growth conditions and are over the larger part of their areas 

 accessible only to those who travel by primitive transportation 

 methods. 



These unusually high standards make the national parks peculiarly 

 important for those whose objectives are to derive inspiration, to 

 commune with nature, or to study nature in its unaltered state. The 

 visitors to national parks tend to remain longer than those to any 

 other type of recreational forest land. Transient holiday outings, 

 which furnish the principal use of municipal, county, and often State 

 parks, are of secondary importance in most national parks. Excep- 

 tions are Yosemite National Park, which receives great patronage 

 from nearby centers of population, and Mount Rainier National 

 Park where the bulk of the visitors come from the neighboring cities 

 of Seattle and Tacoma. Generally, however, national-park recrea- 

 tionalists seek something more than just having a good tune in the 

 outdoors. They are in search of the highest aesthetic values which 

 nature has to offer. 



The total area of the national parks is 8,433,422 acres, of which 

 4,353,298 acres is forested. Deducting the timbered acres in the 

 Hawaii and Mount McKinley National Parks, there remains 



633 



