CNN.com has a report about the completion of a “restoration” of the area surrounding Yosemite Falls. Folks from the “Yosemite Fund” praise the “restoration,”* while members of “Friends of Yosemite Park” say it’ll damage the natural landscape by encouraging more tourists to visit.
The two goals of the National Park Service are in conflict here: to preserve America’s natural wonders, but to allow and encourage Americans to enjoy them as part of our national landscape. As someone who’s planning to visit many of them this summer, I obviously favor the latter, but I certainly appreciate the former viewpoint as well. The number of people who visit the most popular parks (Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion, Yellowstone, etc.) yearly is staggering, and if care isn’t taken to protect the parks they will be gone before our children can enjoy them. However, sealing off the parks in the name of preserving them (which begs the question: preserving them for what purpose?) doesn’t seem to be a good answer either.
Just more food for thought for the road…
* I keep putting it in quotes because it’s not clear to me exactly what state it’s been “restored” to — wouldn’t a “restoration” in a national park involve taking out ALL the trails, viewing areas, etc. and returning it to wilderness?