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Show 23 brief review, or the dearth of literature on the subject, allows. Despite the lack of research on the evolution of environmental attitudes in the state, this overview provides context to begin exploring how the press reported these events and how that journalism fits into the broader journalism history. Journalism and the National Parks The original national park idea was simple- that the natural wonders of the country be held in trust for all people to enjoy. The purpose of national parks, as outlined in the legislation when Yellowstone was created in 1872, was "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life [sic] therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future gcncrat ion s."56 This legislation embedded the debate between preservation and development into the mission of the national parks. I lis1orian Roderick Frazier Nash wrote that the national park idea came about, in part, because "some Americans gradually perceived that their country was different and, they believed, distinguished on account of its contact with wilderness."57 National park historian Alfred Runte observed that "no institution is more symbolic of the conserva1ion movement in the United States than the national parks."58 Runtc asserted that the national park idea was born to fulfill cultural, rather than environmental, needs. Runte's research examined what the national parks mean in America and how the national park idea has s6 U.S. Statutes at L(/rge 39 (1916): 535. HNas h. ··The American Invention of National Parks," 727. ss Runte, National Parks: The American Experience, xxi. |
