LESSON 61 
STATE PARKS 
HE purpose of this lesson is to emphasize the 
importance of state parks, to present some of 
the principles which should govern in the de; 
velopment of a state park system, and to lead 
each student most seriously to consider the con- 
yt) ditions of his own state in this matter. 
Argument 
The immeasurable value for health and recreation of large tracts 
of virgin scenery has generally been overlooked. Yet outdoor rec- 
reation amidst wild scenery is especially appreciated by Americans. 
Up to quite recent times, however, there was so much wild country 
on this continent that no one considered the necessity of preserving 
such lands for future generations or protecting them for present use. 
But as the country has filled up, as population has increased, and as 
life has crowded into cities, these needs have become increasingly 
manifest, until now the need of such reservations of scenery is pretty 
generally acknowledged. 
Now the national provision of parks, forests and national 
monuments, magnificent though it be, is by no means sufficient. 
Especially as circumstances have determined that the largest na- 
tional reserves should be located in the areas having relatively small 
populations, leaving the crowded cities and heavily settled areas 
far from these national reserves, it becomes important that the 
states do something for themselves, and this duty is plainly most 
pressing upon those states which lie farthest from the great parks 
and forests but which have the most congested populations. 
Every state, moreover, no matter where it is located, will have 
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