Showing Revision 2 created 10/14/2020 by lauren mcalpine .

1. Title:
   Who owns the "wilderness"? - Elyse Cox
2. Description:

   View full lesson: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/why-we-need-national-parks-elyse-cox

   In 1903, US President Theodore Roosevelt took a camping trip in California’s Yosemite Valley with conservationist John Muir. Roosevelt famously loved the outdoors, but Muir had invited him for more than just camping: Yosemite was in danger. It was part of a struggle to set aside land for both preservation and public use. Elyse Cox details the delicate balancing act of creating a national park.

   Lesson by Elyse Cox, directed by Boniato Studio.

3. Speaker:
   Elyse Cox
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   In 1903, the President
   of the United States
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   took a three-day camping trip
   in California’s Yosemite Valley.
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   President Theodore Roosevelt slept
   in a grove of towering Sequoia trees,
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   camped in a snowstorm, and spent hours
   talking around the campfire
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   with his host and guide,
   conservationist John Muir.
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   Roosevelt famously loved the outdoors,
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    but Muir had invited him there
    for more than just camping:
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    Yosemite was in danger.
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    Though Yosemite became
    protected land in 1864,

    ¶

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    the valley was still at risk
    for overdevelopment in 1903.
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    It was at the heart of a decades-old
    struggle to set aside land
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    for both preservation and public use—
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    two goals that were much easier
    said than done.
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    The battle over Yosemite began
    with the 1849 gold rush,

    ¶

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    when miners surged west, seeking gold
    in the Sierra Nevada foothills.
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    In 1851, a state-sanctioned militia,
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    drove the Ahwahneechee tribe
    from Yosemite Valley.
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    Those who managed to return witnessed
    white settlers claiming the land,
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    felling giant sequoias,
    and building hotels and saloons.
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    In response, a small group
    of concerned Californians

    ¶

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    lobbied senator John Conness to protect
    the valley from private interests.
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    In 1864, Congress passed Conness’ bill,
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    granting the Yosemite Valley
    to the State of California,
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    marking the first time the U.S. government
    brought land under public protection.
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    But the management of that land remained
    an open question,
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    one that would only become
    more complicated
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    as more lands came
    under similar protection.
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    Seven years later,
    geologist Ferdinand Hayden

    ¶

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    led an expedition
    to the Yellowstone Plateau,
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    which many Native American tribes used
    for ceremonies, hunting, and trade.
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    The expedition’s scientists and artists
    brought back news
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    of spectacular geysers and hot springs,
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    inspiring widespread support to bring
    Yellowstone under government protection—
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    and restrict native people’s
    access to the land.
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    However, unlike Yosemite, Yellowstone
    couldn’t be granted to a state—
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    it was part of three U.S. territories
    that hadn’t become states yet.
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    Instead, Congress brought Yellowstone
    under federal stewardship in 1872,
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    creating the world’s first true
    National Park.
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    During his presidency,
    Teddy Roosevelt was instrumental

    ¶

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    in expanding the lands
    under public protection.
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    By 1916, there were
    fifteen national parks.
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    But the problem of management
    remained unsolved,
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    and maintenance of the park
    was handled haphazardly
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    over multiple government departments.
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    Straightforward tasks like building roads
    and hiring personnel
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    required inefficient
    bureaucratic maneuvering.
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    None of the departments had set rules
    for conduct in the park,
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    so hunters killed park wildlife,
    cattle overgrazed fields,
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    and visitors vandalized landmarks.
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    The solution came from Canada,

    ¶

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    which had a highly effective
    centralized park service.
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    In 1916, the United States established
    the National Park Service
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    based on this model.
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    To this day, the mission for the park
    service is comprised of two goals
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    that sometimes conflict:
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    to conserve the parks for the future
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    and to allow the public to enjoy them.
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    That’s a delicate balancing act:
    roads, trails, and other infrastructure
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    make the parks accessible to visitors,
    but also alter the landscape,
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    while visitors themselves can contribute
    to pollution, erosion,
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    and damage of delicate ecosystems.
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    The very history of preservation
    can also be at odds with this mission.
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    Many parks were not,
    at the time of their founding,
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    the uninhabited wilderness that’s become
    the standard for their preservation.
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    Instead, many were homes or places
    of worship for native peoples,
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    who lost access to these lands
    in the name of public use.
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    Only recently has
    the National Park Service
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    begun to reckon with this legacy
    and engage Native Americans
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    in park management.
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    Around the world, indigenous communities
    play crucial roles
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    in land management and preservation.
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    Today, there are thousands
    of national parks worldwide,

    ¶

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    and each must balance public use with
    historical and ecological preservation.
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    Parks in New Zealand, Iceland, Australia,
    and South Africa
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    have experienced severe erosion
    as visitor numbers have skyrocketed.
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    Some, like Mu Ko Similan National Park
    in Thailand,
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    have closed sections to tourists entirely
    to allow the ecosystem to recover.
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    National Parks have preserved
    irreplaceable landscapes

    ¶

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    for future generations.
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    They also force us to reckon
    with hard questions:
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    what are our responsibilities
    to this planet, and to each other?