The Parks Become Popular

Last night's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea largely focused on the increasing popularity of the National Parks. This was due to two factors: the rise of the automobile and Stephen Mather's realization that he must make the parks car-friendly to attract more people which would then encourage Congress to authorize more parks. Mather was a practical man. His PR man Robert Sterling Yard was an idealist and thought Mather was ruining the parks. He founded the National Parks Association (now the National Parks Conservation Association) and co-founded the Wilderness Society.

One of the highlight for me was following the Gehrtz family as they visited as many National Parks as they could. It reminded me of The War, where we followed certain soldiers through their experiences. The other highlight was the beginning of the National Park rangers, trained professionals who replaced inept political appointees. If I were a bit younger and didn't care much about salary, being a ranger would be my dream job.

The main parks in this episode were Grand Canyon and Great Smoky Mountains. The park service finally got rid of all private claims in the former and the latter was authorized and realized. Also in this episode, John Rockefeller Jr. began secretly buying up land in Jackson Hole for addition to Grand Teton NP. Tonight's episode should be interesting when the cattlemen find out. Also in tonight's episode will be the CCC, in my opinion Roosevelt's greatest idea.

The National Park Service is Formed

In tonight's episode of The National Parks: America's Best Idea, Grand Canyon and Acadia are the featured parks. Many people had wanted the Grand Canyon to be a National Park for a long time, and it was finally designated as such in 1919, the same year as Acadia.

Acadia brings me to my gripe about this series. In the greater scheme of things it is only an annoyance, but nevertheless I don't like it. Burns repeatedly fails to give us fine historical detail such as the fact that Acadia's original name was Sieur de Monts National Monument. The show implies that it was Acadia National Monument. Likewise, he fails to mention that it was made a National Park under the name of Lafayette National Park, which was later changed to Acadia NP, though he is clear that there was some name other than Acadia at the time. I am also still irritated that he completely ignored the second National Park, Mackinac NP. To his credit, he did point out that Zion NP's original name was Mukuntuweap National Monument.

Putting my gripes aside, this was my favorite episode so far, as it focused on the birth of the National Park Service, my favorite government agency, and its first director, Stephen Mather. His assistant, Horace Albright, who succeeded him as director, also features prominently. I might point out here that Albright's book, The Birth of the National Park Service, is a great read. I had forgotten what an impediment Gifford Pinchot, the head of the Forest Service, was. Burns makes sure to point this out in tonight's and last night's episodes. It is always fun to have a bad guy around, especially when we know things turned out fine in the end.

We are halfway done with the series now, and I am convinced that it is the television event of the century, just as I had assumed it would be. Ken Burns rules!