America's National Park System: The Critical Documents

From the author's Introduction: "The purpose of this volume is to help explain this complex system and its ill-defined management culture by reproducing, in their original texts, the key documents that have shaped them. Laws that established and molded the system, policy statements, explanations of policy in action, self-evaluations, scientific studies, and the comments of outside observers from the scientific and conservation communities have all contributed to the composition of the park system and its current administration. Sixty-seven documents are presented in their entirety if possible or abbreviated to include only pertinent abstracts and recommendations if necessary. Six more exceptionally long but fundamental laws are summarized in the final section of the book. Most of the documents led directly to policy formulation or additions to the park system. A few were contemporary efforts to justfy what policies were already in place or at least demonstrate the minds of park administrators of the time. Taken in total, these documents show most directly, in the original language, the evolution of the national park system, the National Park Service, and conservation in America through the early 1990s. It is hoped that this volume will assist park officers, scholars, and the interested general reader to understand how the parks and their problems of today have arisen from the policies and acts of the past."