State Parks of Wisconsin 



growth of timber and the protection and regulation of the water sup- 

 ply, — purposes of immense importance to permanent prosperity. 

 Other purposes than these are incidental and, if considered at all, 

 are subordinate. In the case of parks, however, the main purposes 

 are the preservation and enhancement of natural beauty and the pro- 

 vision for recreation. Park purposes other than these may be taken 

 into account but they must be quite incidental. Thus the minor pur- 

 poses of forests may correspond somewhat with the major purposes 

 of parks, and vice versa ; but the main and essential purposes of each 

 are altogether different from the main and essential purposes of the 

 other and any confusion of them is sure to lead to waste and disap- 

 pointment. Forests and parks should supplement and complement 

 each other. Both are indispensable. 



Our National Parks are great tracts in the far West set aside by 

 the Federal Government because of their uncommon interest and 

 beauty. From the comparatively small area in the Yellowstone, 

 proclaimed by President Harrison in 1891 , we now have five great 

 National Parks, the Yellowstone, the Yosemite, General Grant, 

 Sequoia, and Mt. Ranier, which include within their boundaries 

 more than 40,000,000 acres. Because of their immense size and of 

 the interest of the whole country, rather than of one locality in their 

 preservation, they have become National rather than State Parks. 

 "The wildest health and pleasure grounds," says John Muir, "ac- 

 cessible and available to tourists seeking escape from care and dust 



