National Parks, Forest Service Land – What’s the Difference?
During a summer family trip to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I studied the map and followed the route from my home outside Chicago to the west. Our main destination was Rocky Mountain National Park, but in order to get to the park boundary, we traveled through Roosevelt National Forest first. What was the difference? It was all forested mountains and canyons in the National Forest and didn’t change a bit once we entered the National “Park.” How was it determined that the forest became a park. Aren’t all parks forests and vice versa?
The origins of the National Park movement began with the signing of the 1916 Organic Act by President Woodrow Wilson which is intended to regulate usage of unique places of interest be it geological, historical or cultural, on a national level. The national park is a compromise between preservationists, who preferred to keep wilderness unspoiled without any type of man-made intrusions and the conservationists who believe in ecologically sound means of multiple use for the land. Places like Rocky Mountain National Park, for example is such a compromise allowing much of it to remain wild yet providing visitors’ accommodations such as scenic drives, resorts and recreational opportunities. How it differs from the national forest which surrounds it is discussed in the next section.
National monuments are similar to national parks only in the fact that they are also on government land. The main difference is they are designed to preserve one unique feature of historical, pre-historical or scientific significance and are authorized by the president. National parks preserve entire ecosystems or the overall picture, and are decided by congress. Rocky Mountain National Park preserves the diverse and fragile alpine tundra, montane forest complex of the middle elevations and semi-arid pine forests of the lower slopes. In contrast, Devil’s Tower National Monument in Wyoming, for example, preserves the unique geologic feature and thus the acreage is substantially less.
Since the designation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the country’s first, there have been many changes involving the legislation and management. Today the park service totals at 80 million acres ranging in size from the 16.5 million acre Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska to 500 square-foot Thaddus Koscuiszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
In The Woods
Even at the age of 12, I noticed another unusual sight when in the Roosevelt National Forest, Colorado. A log truck was carrying a load of small-diameter logs heading east out of the mountains. “Were they cutting trees in the national park?”, I wondered to myself. Years later, I was relieved to learn the purpose of the national forests.
The 191 million acres of national forest in the country is the result of it’s founding father, Gifford Pinchot. With a strong passion for the outdoors and a forester by profession, Pinchot helped create the U.S. Forest Service in 1906 with the help of good friend, President Theodore Roosevelt. Today the lands depict the popular term “multiple-use”, which enables a plethora of activities ranging from logging to grazing to research to recreation. The log truck that came roaring down the highway on my visit to Colorado that summer was part of a timber sale operation in the aptly-named Theodore Roosevelt National Forest.
With these multiple uses, the main mission for the Forest Service is to “care for the land and to serve the people.” Of course with the many uses, the Forest Service has been targeted for many controversies over the years. With the ever-increasing surge for recreational opportunities, lumber demands and preserving our natural heritage wild lands including many threatened and endangered species, there is often more at stake than just seeing the forest for the trees. Nevertheless, a strikingly-different scene than that of the National Park aspect of federal land.
The U.S. Forest Service also administers National Recreation Area’s which act as multiple use parks. For example, Hells Canyon National Recreation Area covers 652,000 acres in Oregon, Idaho and Washington which permits logging and grazing in an otherwise wild area is subject for possible inclusion into the National Park System. Other NRA’s in the country exist to provide recreational opportunities yet still preserve cultural and archaelogical sites unique to the area.
Of Sage and Sand
Many armchair travelers of the West immediately think of mountain ranges, vast forests and lakes, all within the confines of some sort of park with the ever-present image of Smokey the Bear to greet them at the entrance booth. Few people realize the importance of the desert ecosystems and it’s preservation and management as well. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is responsible for the “left-over” lands from the Forest Service and Park Service. Sometimes referred to as the foster child of the Forest Service, the BLM has a mission similar to it’s brother to manage and protect these remaining lands, which is mostly desert lands in the intermountain west. Like the Forest Service, yet under the Department of Interior, the BLM has similar management practices mostly emphasizing grazing and mining with some aspect of forestry. The BLM manages 264 million acres of public land, about one-eighth of the nations land.
Wilderness
A large percentage of the U.S. Forest Service lands contain wilderness areas which are actually similar, in some respects, to national parks and monuments. Beginning with the initial passing of the 1964 Wilderness Act, the main purpose was to recognize an area, unspoiled by man since it’s beginnings and to preserve it’s untouched integrity for eternity. In simpler terms, wilderness areas constitute at least 5,000 acres of land which permit recreation, hunting and fishing, though any use of motorized or mechanized equipment is strictly prohibited, unless needed for rescue or other purposes of national interest authorized only by the president. Travel into a wilderness area can be by foot or horseback only as no roads penetrate these wild lands. Once again, Alaska holds the largest wilderness area at 8.7 million acres in the Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve while tiny Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Florida stands at a meager 6 acres.
Whether you’re headed to a National Park, National Monument, National Forest or other chunk of public land, chances are you’ll see a bit of difference yet still many similarities once beyond the boundary. Either way, the great US of A offers the most diverse and extensive realm of public lands across the globe. This summer, or anytime of the year for that matter, get out there and enjoy them.
