Prompt #4: Considering Delivery and Style- Natural Resources in the National Parks

By Emily T

Managing natural resources properly and carefully is essentially the ultimate goal for those involved in any field related to sustainability. This too includes those working in parks and recreation. To learn more about natural resources in parks and recreation departments, the following articles provide two different perspectives on the use of natural resources in the United States national parks:

USA Today: Denali National Park Natural Resources

Monitoring the condition of natural resources in US national parks

The article “Monitoring the condition of natural resources in the U.S. national parks”, written by S.G. Fancy, J.E. Gross, and S.L. Carter from the journal “Environmental Monitoring and Assessment”, is about the natural resources used in the National Parks. The author expresses the importance of the ecosystems within the National Parks, and the complexity behind protecting them by the National Park Service. This author describes the system used in managing the natural resources. The National Park Service goes through an entire process to evaluate the current status of resources of each park, and then they decide what to do about the status. The author stresses that the purpose of the parks is to preserve land to its natural beauty for future generations. The audience for this could be the general public, or anyone working in the parks. I think it is supposed to stress the complexity of evaluating the ecosystems and figuring out what to do with them.

Ethan Shaw from USA Today wrote an article called “Denali National Park Natural Resources” on Denali National Park in Alaska. The article describes the beauty and attractions of the park, and it too touches on the natural resource use of the parks. However, the natural resources described in this article are viewed more as attractions for visitors to the parks. The article covers mountains, forests, tundra, wildlife, and wilderness. It goes into detail about the abundance and beauty of each of these resources, and how visitors can enjoy them through hiking. This was supposed to target tourists, and interest people in visiting or learning about the National Parks, specifically Denali.

Both articles are informative in different ways. While I personally would trust both articles, it is true that the USA Today article is more of an advertisement to promote the parks. It does give details as what to enjoy at a park though, and that would definitely be of use to someone who is interested in visiting. “Monitoring the condition of natural resources in the U.S. national parks” seems to be strictly factual and procedure based. This article offers an inside look as to how the U.S. Park Service incorporates the balance and management of natural resources and environmental sustainability into the services they provide as tourist attractions.

Works Cited

Fancy, S. G., J. E. Gross, and S. L. Carter. "Monitoring the Condition of Natural Resources in the US National Parks." Environmental Monitoring and Assessment 151.74 (2008): 161-74. ProQuest. Springer Science, 29 May 2008. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Shaw, Ethan. "Denali National Park Natural Resources." Travel Tips. USA Today, n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

Images:

Ulph, Robert. Denali National Park Natural Resources. N.d. Denali/ Mt.M McKinley. Travel Tips. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.

"What the Aden Sisters Are Watching Before Jumping Back into Natural Resources | Economy." Before It's News. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2016.