FDR's Impact on National Parks: Protecting the Nation's Environment - Essay Sample

Introduction

The national park service manages the national parks, monuments, archaeological sites, and other properties belonging to the federal government. The system was significantly impacted by Franklin Roosevelt, who championed the nation's conservation efforts. Building upon Theodore Roosevelt's legacy, Franklin Roosevelt (FDR) restructured and expanded the National Park Service while fostering acts and the legislation to conserve the environment. He laid a firm foundation for protecting the nation's natural resources through the National Park Service System. The research topic is crucial as it will lead to the generation of valid information to help in improving the unit. This paper focuses on discussing the National Park Service and the impact of FDR on the national parks.

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The National Park Service

The national park service was instituted by the US congress in 1916 to help in the coordination of the rapidly growing number of national parks. The objectives of the system include preserving the natural and archaeological sites and the national parks (Manning, Diamant, Mitchell, & Harmon, 2016). It also aims to provide the public with areas of entertainment while protecting them from harm. The national park service engages in activities that include wildlife conservation, public services, which involve tour guides, and informative programs. As part of its mandate, the national park service resolves the environmental pollution issues.

Impact of FDR on National Parks

During his time as the governor of New York, Franklin Roosevelt cited the benefits of the forest to ensure that people worked towards conserving them. In 1931, he supported the Hewitt reforestation amendment that advocated for planting tree seedling on the abandoned depleted soils and those with erosion (Hellmann, 2017). After the creation of the National Park Service, the unit mainly focused on the conservation of outstanding landscapes and prehistoric sites. However, FDR expanded the National Park service activities to include the national memorials, national cemeteries, and other national parks. Historical sites such as the Vanderbilt Mansion were included (William, 2018). Through his aggressive activities towards enhancing the preservation of the environment, FDR added more than 30 percent of the areas in the current National Park Service management. He also diversified on whatever was referred to as the national treasures.

Furthermore, Franklin Roosevelt's passion and enthusiasm for conserving the nation's natural resources led to the jurisdiction of new deals program, which laid a strong foundation for the National Park Service (Mackintosh, McDonnell, & Sprinkle, 2018). He also led to the creation of other national parks to ensure increased conservation of the nation's resources under the National Park Service. Moreover, Franklin Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) resulted in many Americans making improvements in the parks. There was the planting trees, the building of lodges, and forging rails. Therefore FDR played an essential role in the expansion of the jurisdiction of the National Park Service.

Research Proposal

The topic is important as it will help in generating sound information to maintain the National Park Service in dealing with the sophisticated threats facing the system. It will also enhance public understanding of science and the milestones that have been made so far in the system. The research will further help in addressing the many issues that affect the parks, such as pollution and the administration of the system (Mackintosh, McDonnell, & Sprinkle, 2018). Additionally, the proposed solutions will include the areas that surround the parks and the need for regional cooperation to ensure the safety of the national parks. The quality and validity of the research are critical due to litigation and other challenges that affect federal land administration decisions.

The study will also seek to provide the illustrations of the scientific knowledge and management of the parks that are founded in the National Parks Service unit. It will also uncover cases in which the lack of proper understanding leads to challenges like the conflicts between the visitors and the management. It will determine the available resources in the parks that need protection, management, and modification. Research is required in the area to uncover the milestones Franklin Roosevelt had on the national parks (Mackintosh, McDonnell, & Sprinkle, 2018). It will also help in evaluating the threats in the department and devise the management responses to terms. The study will help in understanding the dynamics of the national park system and the resources that they are entrusted to conduct by the federal government.

The study will be carried out through an analysis of the past researches carried out in the field. It will be different from the other existing published work as it will combine the results from many sources. To get the research done, it will require a time frame of one month. The time will be enough for reviewing the other studies and exploring information that has not been covered by the previous researchers (Antadze, 2017). It will also build on the existing work by addressing the areas that have not been addressed by past researchers. It will review the current changes in the system.

Conclusion

The research topic is essential as it will seek to identify the milestones in the National Park Service and how FDR improved the national parks. During his time, FDR led to the enactment of rules that promoted natural resources conservation. He also created more national parks to ensure an influential culture of environmental protection. Further, the National Park Service unit currently deals with a broad range of activities that include archaeological sites and national parks, unlike before.

References

Antadze, N. (2017). National parks in the United States. The Evolution of Social Innovation. Edward Elgar Publishing.

Hellmann, D. J. (2017). The National Park Service at 100. Akron Law Review, 50(1), 2.

Mackintosh, B., McDonnell, J. A., & Sprinkle, Jr, J. H. (2018, May). The National Parks: Shaping the System. The George Wright Forum (Vol. 35, No. 2, p. 1). George Wright Society.

Manning, R., Diamant, R., Mitchell, N., & Harmon, D. (2016, January). A National Park System for the 21st Century. The George Wright Forum (Vol. 33, No. 3, pp. 346-355). George Wright Society.

William Gibson, J. (2018). Spirituality and the State: Managing Nature and Experience in America's National Parks.