About the Blog

I'm not entirely sure what the overall nature of this blog will be. I know that it will, as the title indicates, focus on the idea of parks, park management, and (probably) natural resources management more broadly. There will probably be a mix of news, commentary, and reviews of different parks and issues affecting them. While my interests generally run toward the national park system and the many issues it faces as it struggles to fulfill its dual mandate of promoting use and preservation, state and local parks often struggle with similar issues and will get attention as well.

One of my goals in life is to visit every unit of the National Park System. I know it's a bit cliche and hokey, but my interest is more than the low-brow  kids-in-the-camper desire to see Disneyfied nature. I wrote my thesis on the idea of "Nature in the National Parks" and have always been interested in the interplay between policy, perception, and social construction. Every unit in the system has a different approach and focus, and some have extensive and interesting histories behind why they are presented the way they are. I value nature for its own sake, a large part of why I believe in and support parks (both for their aesthetics and their ecological value), but I realize that many people do not and need to experience them. What that experience consists of can go a long way toward shaping the nature of their support for parks and for the ideas of conservation and environmental protection more broadly. So part of my interest is more academic, evaluating and comparing how different parks present themselves and what that says about them and their management priorities.

So that's the basic goal. It's pretty ambitious, but life is about aspirations. I've been to a large number and might write some up (at least the ones I've been to more recently) before I get out to new visits. If any other big issues catch my eye I might also present my take on them though that's generally not my focus.