Great Basin National Park: Rationales, Concepts, and Conflicts

G r e a t B a s in N a t io n a l P a r k : R a tio n a le s , C o n c e p ts , a n d C o n flic ts T e r r i l l J. K r a m e r A ssociate P rofe ssor, D ep artm ent o f G eography U niv ersity o f N ev ad a, R eno , N V 89557 P residential address delivered to the A ssocia tio n o f P acific C o ast G eographers, C hico, C alifornia, S eptem be r 2 2 ,1 9 9 0 V E R Y E A R L Y T H IS Y E A R a w ire service release hit the n ew spapers procla im ing that 1990 w ould be the 100th birthd ay o f Y osem ite N ational Park. T he occasion sparked ano ther c h ap ter in the c o ntin u­ ing debate concerning p a rk m anagem ent. E n vironm entalist D a vid B ro w er w rote th a t Y osem ite V alley “ w as m ore en joyable than it had been h a lf a century e arlie r,” a tribute to the professio nalism and astute plann ing o f the N ational P ark Service (N P S) sta ff and th at o f M C A , Inc., the p a rk ’s concessionaire. T his ob servation w as m ade in the face o f an annual park attendance o f 3.4 m illion, 95 p erc en t o f w hich is concentrated in Y osem ite V alley. O n a pe ak n ig ht in sum m er (using m y com m unity, R eno, as an analogy) there is the hotel eq uiv ale nt o f 7 8 A P C G Y E A R B O O K • V O L U M E 53 • 1991 B ally s, H arrahs, F itzgeralds, an d th e E ldorado all cam p ed o u t on fou r square m iles o f Y osem ite V a lley floor, a populatio n density o f 1,750 p e r square m ile. A n o th er v iew o f the m atter w as presented in a co m m en t o f the W ild ern ess S oc iety ’s S teven W hitney: “ T he purpose o f th e p a rk does not inv olve serving ice cream to the m asses.” P erhaps in th e m id d le is the co ncern ex pressed by th e N PS P ublic A ffairs chief, G eo rg e B erklacy: “W e ’re loving o u r parks to de ath ” (R eno G azetteJ o u rn a l 1990). T h is lo ve affair betw een us and o u r national parks has grow n apac e since the first, Y ellow stone, w as so d esignated in 1872, “ as a plea su rin g ground fo r th e be n efit and en joym ent o f the pe o ple.” T he ratio na le behind the designation o f an area as a national park has been th e preserv ation o f lan dscapes o f exce ption al m agnificence o r beauty, w hich m ay contain exotic features, and, m ore recently, w hich m ay ex h ib it a m icrocosm ic pristine view o f a previously m ore w idespread ecological system . T hus w e hav e m uch variety in p a rk landscapes and featu res as in “pre-fire” Y ellow stone, B ryce C anyon, A cadia, Z ion, G re at S m okies, o r C rater L ake. G iven the increase o f o u r national...