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182 12 A New Era of Federal-State Cooperation An astute observer once pointed out that the growth pattern of state parks was not unlike that of children: “Growth does not usually occur at a consistent rate, but in spurts.” Both children and parks, he acknowledged, were also susceptible to “growing pains.” It is true that state parks experienced a modest growth spurt in the mid-1920s as a result of the promotional efforts of the newly organized National Conference on State Parks, and a really stupendous one a decade later thanks to the Civilian Conservation Corps. But by the late 1950s, after twenty years of respectable but hardly spectacular progress, America’s state parks were clearly in need of another “spurt”—something to reenergize the program, to stimulate interest that would prime the budget pumps in state legislatures. Growth of any kind presupposes a source of nourishment, of course, and whence would such nourishment for state parks expansion come? A few states were financially able—and sufficiently motivated—to support dynamic state park programs on their own, and these were already outdistancing the pack. For the great majority, though, it was apparent that little would be done without the impetus of some external encouragement and support. The CCC experience certainly had left little room to doubt that fact. If help was to come in the form of another big juicy carrot, though, it would have to originate with the federal government somehow. Fortunately, some creative minds and persuasive voices were already at work on the matter. Separate, largely unrelated, federal initiatives that would benefit state parks were well underway,“racing” along parallel tracks. A New Era of Federal-State Cooperation 183 Parks for America Now under the firm leadership of Director Conrad Wirth, the National Park Service still considered itself the nation’s principal outdoor recreation agency and, as always, a friend and patron of the state parks movement. Wirth, in fact, remained a “life” member of the NCSP board and actively participated in all of its affairs. As one of the instigators of the 1936 Park, Parkway, and Recreational Area Study Act, he also was constantly mindful of the special responsibility the Park Service had under that law to cooperate with and assist the states in pursuing their own park and recreation goals. It was not uncharacteristic, then, that in putting together his ambitious “Mission 66” program for modernizing the national parks, he would also include something for the state parks as well. That something was to be an initiative launched in 1957 called “Parks for America.” Parks for America, as Wirth envisioned it, would be the third in a series of nationwide assessments of state park and recreation programs and needs conducted by the National Park Service, following generally in the pattern of the 1934 “Recreational Use of Lands in the United States” prepared for the National Resources Board and the 1941 A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States. The primary purpose was to assess the situation in each of the states and lay a factual basis for further acquisition and development efforts, presumably to be assisted with federal technical and financial aid. The prospect of federal assistance ensured the full cooperation and participation by the states, and over the next several years a tremendous volume of information was compiled , including the inventory of some 4,800 existing nonurban park and recreation areas and the identification of almost 2,800 potential new areas.1 By early 1961, the impressive report was completed and ready for publication—but it was not yet to have its day. The political situation in Washington had changed, and the National Park Service was destined for a rude shock. Apparently Wirth sensed that the Park Service’s report might need an organized show of support in view of other developments taking place in Washington at the time (more about that later). He got Secretary of the Interior Fred Seaton to invite representatives of the National Conference on State Parks and the American Institute of Park Executives to meet with himself and other NPS personnel on October 31, 1960. After Wirth presented his ideas for an action plan to implement the recommendations of the forthcoming report, the group agreed to organize itself as the “Committee of Fifteen,” with five members from each of the 1. U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, Parks for America, vii. [3.129.211.87] Project MUSE (2024-04-26 15:58...

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