My husband John, our dog Jett and I spent the afternoon hiking the Pine Creek Rail Trail the other day. It was a beautiful day and as we meandered along our 6 mile hike I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed by the beauty of our surroundings. What foresight someone had in making this place a reality! What a treasure for us all to enjoy.
I feel very fortunate that the work I do supports land conservation; unfortunately, most of the time I spend my days behind a computer in an office far away from nature. My hike the other day, as I would prefer most of my days be spent, reminded me of why I do what I do. Why so many of us work in conservation.
It is not always easy. Behind a protected property or a public park is often a dramatic story of dedicated people who have worked long and hard to move a project forward. Sometimes a project can take months, even years. Sometimes even longer.
The Grand Canyon National Park for example, which we all should take the time to see in our lifetime, was established thanks to tremendous leadership and determination.
As far back as the late 1800s, there was an active movement to protect our nation’s natural resources. The American Forestry Association was established in 1875 and in 1891 Congress passed the Forest Reserve Act which enabled Presidents to acquire lands through the Department of Interior for the public good. Gifford Pinchot, was the nation’s first Chief of the Forestry Division. Pinchot, who later would serve two terms as Pennsylvania Governor, is known by many as the Father of Forestry.
In 1882 then US Senator Benjamin Harrison from Indiana attempted to establish the Grand Canyon as a public park. He attempted twice more in the next four years. As President, in 1898 Harrison created the Grand Canyon Forest Reserve but it didn’t provide the necessary protections from various threats, including timbering and mining.
In 1905, under Pinchot’s leadership, the US forestry Division was officially established. At this time, the Reserve took control of the Grand Canyon though struggled with profiteers who continuously attempted to exploit the canyon for their own gain.
Conservation pioneers like John Muir promoted the conservation of precious natural treasures like the Grand Canyon, opposing development and mining and instead arguing for conservation and tourism. In 1908, President Theodore Roosevelt declared the Grand Canyon National Monument. The effort to promote the level of protection and designate the Canyon a National Park ultimately resulted in the creation of the National Park System in 1916. In 1919, the Grand Canyon National Park was designated and became the nation’s 17th national park.
From 1882 when the idea of a national park in the Grand Canyon was first officially proposed to 1919 when the national park was finally established, so many conservationists worked publicly and behind the scenes to protect this natural masterpiece. These conservationists fought against land prospectors, miners, developers — all profiteers who had their sights on the canyon – not for the public good but for their own personal benefit and greed.
Unfortunately, even today, the designation of a state park, state forest or even national park does not protect the land from profiteers. In the Grand Canyon, mining is still a threat, in particular, the mining of uranium.
60 million acres of national parks and forests were reclassified by the George W. Bush administration from roadless conservation areas to allow for the construction of commercial logging roads. Under the Obama administration, according to the Center for American Progress, 42 National Parks are threatened by oil and gas development. And the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) which represents 19 million acres of protected habitat is under perpetual threat due to the oil reserves that lie beneath.
In Pennsylvania, state parks and forests are extremely vulnerable to the drilling industry. As of December 2012, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation & Natural Resources (DCNR), more than half of the 2.2 million acres of the state’s forest system lies above the Marcellus Shale. Approximately 700,000 of these acres are available for drilling. 384,000 acres have been leased by the state and another 290,000 acres have been privately leased since the state does not own the subsurface rights.
Loyalsock State Forest, a favorite destination of many residing in Central Pennsylvania, is the latest target of the natural gas industry which could result in surface development of approximately 7000 acres by Anadarko Petroleum and subsurface development of an additional 18,000 acres, according to DCNR.
Our national and state park and forest systems represent the very best that nature has to offer – the hard work of so many conservationists to get the land conserved – the rights of the american people to enjoy them. Despite their victorious efforts, we still find our lands vulnerable to greed and short sighted gains. We must forever stay vigilant to keep even those protected resources from getting into the wrong hands.
It isn’t enough to enjoy and appreciate them, we must defend them.
Source:
Anderson, Michael. “Polishing the Jewel: An Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park“, 2000.