Parks and Nature Preserves
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Outline
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Parks and Nature Preserves
 History
 Problems
 Size and Design
Wilderness Areas
Wildlife Refuges
Wetlands
 Values
 Destruction
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
PARKS AND NATURE PRESERVES
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Origins and History

Sacred groves were set aside for religious
purposes, and grounds preserved for royalty.
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Natural landscaping popular in England in
1700s; created illusion of nature.

Aristocrats excluded peasants’ harvesting within
hunting estates
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Central Park
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New York’s Central Park 1844

Provide healthful open space.
- Designed by Frederick Law Olmstead.
father of landscape architecture.

Became original commissioner of
Yosemite in California.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Yellowstone
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First US area set aside to protect wild nature.
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Designated the first National Park in the
world in1872.
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National Park Service founded in
1916.
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Eliminated evidence of human use.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
U.S. National Parks
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US national park system has grown to 376
parks, monuments, historic sites and
recreation areas.

300 million visitors annually.
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State and local parks have 1/16th the
area of national parks, yet 2x visitors.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Park Problems
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Islands of nature surrounded and threatened
by destructive land uses and growing human
populations.
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Number of visitors increased by 1/3rd in past
decade, park budgets decreased by 25%

Estimated $6-8 billion for overdue repairs
and restoration alone.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Park Problems
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Air Pollution
 Acid Rain
 Photochemical Smog
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Mining and Oil Interests
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Incompatible uses.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wildlife
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Historically, parks killed “bad” animals
(wolves) in favor of “good” animals (elk).
 Unbalanced ecosystems, created false
illusion of nature.
Today’s policy of “natural regulation.”

Bison populations
- Hunted off park property
- Brucellosis and domestic cattle
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Buffalo killing at Yellowstone
`
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Buffalo killing at Yellowstone
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
New Directions
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Several parks removed facilities that conflict
with natural values.
Proposals to close a number of parks to
tourists to protect ecosystems.
 Airsheds, watersheds, and animal
territories and migration routes often
extend far beyond official boundaries.
- Biogeographical area must be managed
as a unit.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
New Parks and Monuments
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Solution to to create new parks.
 Grand Staircase-Escalante
- Desert canyonlands in southern Utah.
 Sits atop potentially trillions of dollars
worth on natural resources.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
World Parks, Preserves and Refuges
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4% of landmass
North and Central America have the largest
fraction (10% of their land area - 33% of total
protected area).
 Former Soviet Union only has 3% of total.
Currently about 300 world biosphere
reserves in 75 countries.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Sustainable
Human use
and benefit
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Size and Design of Nature Preserves

Ideally, a reserve should be large enough
- To support viable populations of
endangered species,
- To keep ecosystems intact
- To isolate critical core areas from
external forces.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Size and Design of Nature Preserves
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For some species, several small isolated
refuges can support viable populations.
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But cannot support species requiring large
amounts of space.
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Corridors of natural habitat to allow
movement of species from one area to
another can help maintain genetic
exchange in fragmented areas.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Conservation and Economic Development
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Ecotourism can be more
beneficial to over the longterm than extractive
industries.
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Wildlife watching,
outdoor recreation
can be source of
income.
But ecotourism can
extend impacts into
new untouched areas.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Indigenous Communities and Reserves
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Areas chosen for
nature preservation are
often traditional lands
of indigenous people.

Often hurt traditional
economies by
restricting access or
cultural practices.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Maasai herders and Tanzania national parks
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
WILDERNESS AREAS
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A belief in wilderness is deeply embedded in
our culture.
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1964 - Wilderness Act defined wilderness:
 “An area of undeveloped land affected
primarily by the forces of nature, where
man is a visitor who does not remain…”
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wilderness Areas
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Most of areas meeting these standards are in
the Western US and Alaska.
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“Pure” interpretation of area with no history
of development, only 1/4th of roadless
areas qualify.
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Prolonged battle has been waged over
de-facto wilderness areas.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wilderness Areas
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Arguments for preservation:
 Refuge for endangered wildlife.
 Solitude and primitive recreation.
 Baseline for ecological research.
 Area left in natural state.
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For many people in developing countries, the
idea of pristine wilderness is neither
important or interesting.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
WILDLIFE REFUGES
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51 national wildlife refuges in US, 1901. Now
511 refuges in every major biome in NA.
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Refuge Management
 Originally intended to be sanctuaries in
which wildlife would be protected from
hunting or other disturbances.
- 1948 - Hunting allowed in refuges.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wildlife Refuges
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Over the years, a number of other uses have been
allowed to operate within wildlife refuge
boundaries.
 Oil and Gas Drilling
 Cattle Grazing
 Motor-boating
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Refuges also face threats from external sources expanding human populations, water pollution
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
WETLANDS
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Wetland - Shallow water body or an area
where the ground is wet long enough to
support plants specialized to grow under
saturated soil conditions.
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Wetland Values
- Highly productive habitat for wildlife.
- Occupy 5% of US land, but at least 1/3rd
of endangered species use wetlands.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wetland Values
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Storage of flood waters.
Natural water purification systems.
Coastal Wetlands
 Used by nearly two-thirds of all marine fish
and shellfish.
 Stabilize shorelines and help reduce flood
damage.
 Recreational Opportunities.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wetland Destruction
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Throughout much of history, wetlands have
been considered disagreeable and useless.
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1850s to 1990s-- governments
encouraged wetland drainage.
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2/3rds of original wetlands destroyed.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wetlands Destruction
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wetland Destruction
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Clean Water Act (1972) protected wetlands
by requiring discharge permits.
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Farm Bill (1985) blocked agricultural
subsidies to farmers who drain or damage
wetlands.
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These laws are not necessarily effectively
enforced.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Wetlands and Flood Control
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Floodplains - Low lands along riverbanks,
lakes, and coastlines subjected to periodic
inundation.
 Valuable due to rich soil, level topography,
convenient water supply, access to
shipping, and recreational potential.
- River control systems have protected
communities, but tend to channelize
rivers, speeding flow of water and
exacerbating flooding downstream.
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.
Summary
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Parks and Nature Preserves
 History
 Problems
 Size and Design
Wilderness Areas
Wildlife Refuges
Wetlands
 Values
 Destruction
Cunningham - Cunningham - Saigo: Environmental Science 7th Ed.