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Ideals And Controversies Of National Park Expansion

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Ideals and Controversies of National Park Expansion Since the early 1920s to the 1970s, there has been a debate regarding the perceptions and standards by which national parks should be established and limiting the expansion of national parks, limiting access for people living in urban areas and threatening open spaces due to urban sprawl and over population. Gradually traditional perceptions gave way to the preservationists’ viewpoints which redefined and gradually expanded federal definition of national parks. This was to include areas that may not be extraordinarily scenic but still required environmental protection or allowed recreational access for urban citizens, allowing for expansion and more funding. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming became the first national park to be established by Congress and President Grant with the signing of the Act of Dedication Law. “It followed that any national park established subsequently would be measured against Yellowstone’s significance in American culture.” (Runte, 2010, p. 190) This is based on its impressive geological features, and majestic and monumental scenery. By the early 1900s, there was controversy surrounding the criteria as to what would define a national park, as President Roosevelt had signed in several tracts of lands as national parks that did not hold scenic value, where not especially expansive tracts of land, and one was utilized as a gaming preserve by a governmental branch. One proponent to the

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