National Parks Under threat

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National Parks: Underthreat Our nations incredible 401 National Parks are some of the most iconic places on the face of the earth. From the Grand Canyon to the Great Smoky Mountains our nation's national parks are something we should be proud to have. Lately our National Parks have been under threat from both Environmental and Political issues both putting our National Parks at risk. We need preserve the National Parks for generations to come. The National Parks show the most amazing parts of this great nation, they are the source of billions of dollars in revenue, and they are the home to countless forms of wildlife. The first U.S National Park was founded in 1872. The park was Yellowstone National Park. It was also the world's first National Park. Since 1872 the parks system has grown to 401 National Parks in the U.S a total of 84 million acres in every state.(National Parks Service) We owe a huge number of our most famous National Parks to the work of President Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was a huge supporter of the National Parks and National Park conservation. Roosevelts favorite park was the grand canyon, his most famous quote about it was "Leave it as it is. You cannot improve on it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, and for all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American... should see." (National Parks Service) In the years since Roosevelt's time the parks have changed dramatically. The Parks have gone through both physical and environmental changes some both good and bad. In the late 1940’s uranium mining became hugely popular in national parks in the southwest. The government was mining uranium for the Atomic bomb. Soon aft... ... middle of paper ... ...Fox News, 8 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Jan. 2014. Air Quality Monitoring Stations in the Park:. "Air Quality." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 09 Jan. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2014. "Yosmite Parks Statistics." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 04 Feb. 2014. Web. 05 Feb. 2014. "The Grand Canyon History." National Parks Service. U.S Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. Roosevelt, Theodore. "Theodore Roosevelt Quotes." National Parks Service. National Parks Service, 22 Jan. 2014. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Repenshek, Kurt. "Opposition Mounts to Tourism Promotion of National Parks."National Parks Traveler. Nationalparkstraveler.com, 3 June 2010. Web. 1 Feb. 2014. "The Sierra Club and Our National Parks." Yosemite National Park. The Sierra Club, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014. Wildlife Facts." Home. National Park Conservation Association, n.d. Web. 17 Feb. 2014.

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