11-04-2021, 02:53 PM
Yosemite: The Embattled Wilderness by Alfred Runte
Another book in the long series of People are bad.
The Embattled Wilderness takes a look at the history of the park from the perspective of what have we done to protect the park. Or even what should be our definition of a park. The answer comes down to that park has not been protected because people are more important. And by people we mean profits. From the earliest days people have wanted amenities to make their stays in the park more enjoyable. Concessionaires have used that excuse to get more and more facilities for the people at the park's expense.
People have tried to steer the park in the right direction but either their advice was buried in the case of Frederick Olmsted or mostly ignored in the case of Professor Grinnell. One of the big examples used in our mismanagement of the park is the bear. How it's easier to shoot the bears than train humans to learn to be in their environment. Bears have never killed anyone in the park but the park has killed hundreds of bears. At one point, that was the park rangers job to hunt and kill the dangerous animals. The State of California even had an office of Game Hunter whose job was to kill mountain lions. At one point, the park managers thought it would be a good idea to spray DDT around the upper meadows to kill a bug infestation. They did this for several years. Even Ansel Adams comes in for scrutiny. He thought everything should be removed from the park. Everything but his Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee. The Curry Company comes in for a lot of scorn as well.
It's a fascinating read. Unfortunately, my library copy of the book was the 1990 edition. There is a newer edition that was published in 2020 that I'm going to have to get. It continues the history of the concessionaires and their undermining of the principles of good park management.
Another book in the long series of People are bad.
The Embattled Wilderness takes a look at the history of the park from the perspective of what have we done to protect the park. Or even what should be our definition of a park. The answer comes down to that park has not been protected because people are more important. And by people we mean profits. From the earliest days people have wanted amenities to make their stays in the park more enjoyable. Concessionaires have used that excuse to get more and more facilities for the people at the park's expense.
People have tried to steer the park in the right direction but either their advice was buried in the case of Frederick Olmsted or mostly ignored in the case of Professor Grinnell. One of the big examples used in our mismanagement of the park is the bear. How it's easier to shoot the bears than train humans to learn to be in their environment. Bears have never killed anyone in the park but the park has killed hundreds of bears. At one point, that was the park rangers job to hunt and kill the dangerous animals. The State of California even had an office of Game Hunter whose job was to kill mountain lions. At one point, the park managers thought it would be a good idea to spray DDT around the upper meadows to kill a bug infestation. They did this for several years. Even Ansel Adams comes in for scrutiny. He thought everything should be removed from the park. Everything but his Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee. The Curry Company comes in for a lot of scorn as well.
It's a fascinating read. Unfortunately, my library copy of the book was the 1990 edition. There is a newer edition that was published in 2020 that I'm going to have to get. It continues the history of the concessionaires and their undermining of the principles of good park management.
As a matter of fact, my anger does keep me warm