Wilderness in national parks : playground or preserve / John C. Miles.

ISBN:

9780295988740

9780295988757

9780295990392

Title:

Wilderness in national parks : playground or preserve / John C. Miles.

Author:

Miles, John C., 1944-

Personal Author:

Miles, John C., 1944-

Publication Information:

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 334 pages) : illustrations

Contents:

Introduction -- Wilderness and the origins of National Parks -- Wilderness and the new agency -- Wilderness becomes an issue for the Park Service -- Preservation of the primeval in the Post-Mather Era -- More ferment and expansion -- From the war to Director Wirth -- The drive for a wilderness act -- A hesitant start at implementation -- Wilderness reviews reluctantly completed -- Wilderness in Alaska -- A new sort of National Park wilderness -- Park wilderness after the reviews -- The work continues -- Epilogue.

Local Note:

eBooks on EBSCOhost

Subject Term:

National parks and reserves -- United States.

Nature conservation -- United States.

Wilderness areas -- United States.

BUSINESS & ECONOMICS -- Real Estate -- General.

National parks and reserves (OCoLC)fst01033642

Nature conservation (OCoLC)fst01034632

Wilderness areas (OCoLC)fst01175164

Electronic books.

Geographic Term:

United States (OCoLC)fst01204155

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

http://ezproxy.angliss.edu.au/login?direct=true&scope=site&db=nlebk&AN=393483

Publication Date:

2009

Publication Information:

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
333.782160973 22	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ONLINE	Searching... Unknown

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Summary

Wilderness in National Parks casts light on the complicated relationship between the National Park Service and its policy goals of wilderness preservation and recreation. By examining the overlapping and sometimes contradictory responsibilities of the park service and the national wilderness preservation system, John C. Miles finds the National Park Service still struggling to deal with an idea that lies at the core of its mission and yet complicates that mission, nearly one hundred years into its existence.

The National Park Service's ambivalence about wilderness is traced from its beginning to the turn of the twenty-first century. The Service is charged with managing more wilderness acreage than any government agency in the world and, in its early years, frequently favored development over preservation. The public has perceived national parks as permanently protected wilderness resources, but in reality this public confidence rests on shaky ground.

Miles shows how changing conceptions of wilderness affected park management over the years, with a focus on the tension between the goals of providing recreational spaces for the American people and leaving lands pristine and undeveloped for future generations.

Author Notes

John C. Miles is Managing Consultant for Ankerbold International, Ltd., specializing in transport policy analysis and ITS. He served as Director (Highway Network Management) for the Greater London Region of the Department of Transport in England and is a member of the ICE, IHT, and CIT.

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Reviews (1)

Choice Review

This is a remarkable book that fills an important niche in the literature on US national parks and the National Park Service (NPS). The text is presented in eras, illustrating the dominant personalities involved and the evolution of national parks from wasteland to wonderland. Miles (environmental studies, Western Washington Univ.) effectively uses primary sources to document the conflict between promotion of the national parks and the erosion of wilderness due to increasing access and use of the parks as America became an auto culture. A central element in this story is the role of wilderness in the management strategies of both the NPS and the US Forest Service, and the tension between these agencies because of wilderness. In presenting the role of the Wilderness Act in the post-WW II national discussion on public lands management, Miles's thorough research and lucid writing provides not entirely flattering insights into the transformation of the NPS through major legislation. The difficulties of the rapid expansion of national park lands in the last third of the 20th century and the inherent contradictions in managing wild lands through bureaucracy provide lessons for students of resources and politics. Worth rereading. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All levels/libraries. E. J. Delaney US Army Corps of Engineers

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Introduction	p. 3
1 Wilderness and the Origins of National Parks	p. 9
2 Wilderness and the New Agency	p. 27
3 Wilderness Becomes an Issue for the Park Service	p. 42
4 Preservation of the Primeval in the Post-Mather Era	p. 67
5 More Ferment and Expansion	p. 88
6 From the War to Director Wirth	p. 110
7 The Drive for a Wilderness Act	p. 137
8 A Hesitant Start at Implementation	p. 159
9 Wilderness Reviews Reluctantly Completed	p. 183
10 Wilderness in Alaska	p. 205
11 A New Sort of National Park Wilderness	p. 224
12 Park Wilderness after the Reviews	p. 253
13 The Work Continues	p. 270
Epilogue	p. 282
Notes	p. 287
Sources	p. 311
Index	p. 323

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Bound With These Titles

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Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (1)

Choice Review

Table of Contents