State Parks of Wisconsin 



acres. Therefore, if the people of Wisconsin are to have the ad- 

 vantage of large parks — and who can doubt that they are? — they 

 cannot look successfully to the Nation or the cities to provide them ; 

 they must come from the State. 



What are the requirements of State Parks? They may be con- 

 veniently summarized under five heads. ( 1 ) They should be 

 large ; otherwise they could not be used by great numbers of people 

 without destruction of the very qualities most essential to their pur- 

 pose. On account of the influence of topographical features it is 

 hardly practicable, nor is it necessary, to fix an acreage for State 

 Parks, but, as a working basis, it may be said that it is desirable that 

 State Parks should contain at least two or three thousand acres and 

 five thousand are even better. (2) State Parks should be access- 

 ible — not to the degree that City Parks are, but accessible by train or 

 boat or vehicle within reasonable time and at reasonable expense. 

 Accessibility, however, should not be interpreted too narrowly, nor 

 should it be measured by present facilities alone. The establish- 

 ment of a park in one section or another will inevitably lead to an in- 

 crease of travelling accommodations, as will also the mere lapse of 

 years, bringing with it an increased density of population. (3) 

 The air and climate of sections within which State Parks are located 

 should be salubrious, and the situation healthful. Especially 

 should the climate of the summer months, the period that most 

 people have for vacations, be agreeable. In the course of years 



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