National Park Service A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States

AT EVERY ORDINARY LEVEL of government, from the Federal Government to the village, there are holdings of land and water; in addition, a number of special agencies, not part of the Federal Government nor of State, county, or municipal governments, are owners of land. Perhaps the best example of the latter, because it belongs specifically in the recreational field, is the metropolitan park district in Ohio.

Almost any land is usable for some kind of recreation whether it should be so used or not and, in recent years, for a variety of reasons which need not be recounted here, almost every agency which possesses land has to a greater or less degree entered the recreational field. The result, among agencies at levels higher than the city or county or their approximate equivalents, such as the Ohio metropolitan park district mentioned above, is an appalling picture of confusion, lack of coordination, and costly duplication of facilities and administration which has been intensified since 1933 by the expenditure of large sums of relief money on recreational lands and developments.

CITY AND COUNTY PROVISIONS FOR RECREATION

In attempting to give an over-all view of the present situation with respect to provision for outdoor recreation, it appears logical to start with those levels of government which provide for the greatest volume of use—the cities, counties, and metropolitan park districts. No reliable statistics exist showing attendance, but the National Recreation Association Yearbook estimates that for municipal parks it may have amounted to as much as 600,000,000 in 1938—a figure overwhelmingly greater than could be given for all other recreational areas combined. The figures given by that association on the number of participants in certain activities indicate the extent of use of municipal parks. For example, more than 74,000,000 persons made use of 280 bathing beaches in 124 cities, while 25,700,004 made use of 546 outdoor swimming pools in 212 cities. Since there were actually 569 beaches and 842 outdoor swimming pools, it may be seen that actual use of such facilities must greatly exceed the totals shown.

A study of Municipal and County Parks in the United States 1935, made by the National Park Service in cooperation with the National Recreation Association, gave the following figures on city park acreages: Of 1,425 cities reporting, 1,216 reported one or more parks, with a total acreage of 388,867. It may be fairly assumed that this comes very close to representing the total extent of city parks as of that date. Three hundred and forty-one cities reported no parks or less than an acre of park for each 2,000 of population, and in all probability most of the cities which failed to report belonged in this group.

For the same study, 77 counties reported a total of 159,261.7 acres of park land. Most of the large county systems are found in metropolitan regions and of the 77 systems reported in the county classification, four are Ohio metropolitan park districts, one is the East Bay District in California, located in and serving principally two counties, and one is the Boston Metropolitan Park District, located in and serving several counties.

Distribution of such systems is extremely spotty for the country as a whole. Of the 77 systems reported, 35, or 45.5 percent, were in three States. In some States, counties lack authority to create parks. Because of this "spottiness" of distribution their service to recreation for the country as a whole is extremely uneven. Wherever they exist in metropolitan areas, however, use of them compares favorably with that given to municipal parks; much the same type of development is placed upon them; and their closeness to using population results in day use of much the same character as that of the larger in-town parks. Since they average considerably larger in size than the city parks, what difference in development does exist tends to emphasize a naturalistic landscape development and those activities that depend somewhat on spaciousness—hiking, horseback riding, even some camping. This difference emphasizes their transition character between the typical city park and the typical State park.

An indication of the volume of use to which metropolitan or county park areas are subjected is given by Cook County, Illinois, where the 33,000 acres of Forest Preserve District lands are estimated to have an annual attendance of 15,000,000.

While the total acreage in city park systems is shown as 388,867 for the 1,425 cities reporting, not all this acreage is city park in the ordinary sense. Two hundred and ninety-nine cities reported 514 parks, with a total acreage of 129,941, city-owned but located outside the city limits. Thus these cities reach out into the metropolitan park field and possess what are in effect metropolitan park systems.

THE STATES IN THE FIELD OF RECREATION

1. State Parks and Other State Areas, Primarily Recreational.—State parks or related areas established primarily for recreation, ranging in extent from a fraction of an acre to more than 2,000,000 acres, have been established in all but two States. In January 1939, according to figures gathered by the National Park Service, there were 1,397 of these properties, containing a total of 4,342,863 acres, It should be noted that this figure includes the Adirondack and Catskill Parks in New York State. Reference is made to this fact for the reason that these two properties, of which the Adirondack is larger than any other State park in the United States, are frequently included in State forest totals. However, they are used primarily for recreation, and are in fact subject to much more stringent restrictions as to cutting of trees and building of roads and structures—set by the State constitution—than are most State parks.

The properties included in this total are variously designated as parks, monuments, recreational reserves, parkways, historic sites, memorials, and waysides. Each of these terms is subject to wide variation in meaning in the different States, several of which use the designation "park" for recreational and cultural holdings of all sorts. One result of failure to distinguish between the several types of property included in State recreational systems is the tendency to place certain types of development on areas not suitable for them.

Among the different States there are very great variations in the relative adequacy of these State systems. None is as yet fully adequate—not even in New York where the ratio between attendance and population is probably the highest for any State. In numerous States, particularly in the South, this ratio is very low. This condition is due to a combination of several factors, of which the most important are relative inadequacy of areas, unscientific distribution of areas, incomplete development, and—again largely in the South—the newness of the State park idea and consequent lack of public knowledge of what such areas have to offer.

It is estimated that attendance at State parks, monuments, etc., in 38 States during 1938 totaled 70,000,000 persons, with a probable total attendance for all States of approximately 75,000,000.

2. State Forests.—The United States Forest Service reports, as of 1935,¹ a total State-owned forest acreage of 15,780,160—a figure which includes the Adirondack and Catskill Parks, but not other forested parks. Much of this, however, is simply in State ownership particularly in some Western States which possess extensive Federal land grants—without being under such organized and perfected administration as is characteristic of State forest management in such States as Pennsylvania or Connecticut, for example.

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¹ Forest Land Resources, Requirements, Problems and Policy, Part VIII of Supplementary Report of the Land Planning Committee to the National Resources Board, 1935.

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Though established for other primary purposes, State forests make a contribution to outdoor recreation of considerable volume and importance, varyingly coordinated with other State recreational facilities such as State parks. Pennsylvania's State forests, more than 1,650,000 acres in extent, provide inhabitants of the Keystone State with almost their only opportunity for what are sometimes referred to as extensive types of recreation. Some portions of them are almost certainly worthy of delimitation as State parks, with the special type of development and administration suited to parks. In Massachusetts, much of the 171,000 acres in State forests is most valuable for recreation and is being extensively developed for it. Thought is being given in the Bay State to the advisability of delimitations and changes in classification, such as seem to be advisable in Pennsylvania, Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota are other States with State forests administratively organized and which are utilized to a considerable extent for recreation.

Though 42 States are shown as owners of forest lands, only in relatively few of them, as indicated above, do they make an appreciable contribution to recreation requirements.

3. State Wildlife Areas.—Though in the aggregate there is a considerable acreage of State holdings in the form of public shooting grounds, game and other wildlife refuges, preserves and sanctuaries, game farms, fish hatcheries, etc., established primarily for one or more of those purposes, recreational use of them is a minor factor by comparison with State parks or State forests. Their contribution to recreation a variable but important one is rather that of improving hunting and fishing on other lands, public and private.

FEDERAL LANDS AND RECREATION

At the Federal level, a multiplicity of bureaus and independent agencies are charged with administration of lands, and most of these are, to a greater or less degree, "in the game" of providing the means of outdoor recreation. Of this group, one, the National Park Service is primarily responsible for the preservation of areas providing the highest type of recreation. It administers a group of properties which include much of the most spectacular scenery in America, as well as an extensive collection of areas of outstanding scientific, historic or prehistoric significance. Another—the United States Forest Service administering 175,843,405 acres, as of June 30, 1939, has in its domain millions of acres of fine scenery, including the greater part of America's mountain ranges; an abundance of streams and lakes; magnificent forests; much game, big and small, as well as other wildlife, and most of the remaining extensive roadless wilderness areas. In consequence, the Forest Service is a purveyor of outdoor recreation on a large scale. Owing to extensive purchases in the past quarter century and particularly during the present decade, its properties are now to be found in 40 of the 48 States.

In addition to these two major purveyors of recreation, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Office of Indian Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Soil Conservation Service, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, the Grazing Service, and the War Department all administer areas more or less valuable for recreation.

(a) The National Park Service.

Established in 1917 to provide proper administration for the National Park and Monument System which had been in process of development since the creation of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, the National Park Service now administers 203 areas in the United States, Alaska and Hawaii, containing 21,882,770 acres. Of the growth of this System, Secretary Ickes has said:²

There have been two stages in the creation of national parks. During the first stage, national parks were established on lands already owned by the Government on which there were striking natural phenomena-mountains, glaciers, waterfalls, lakes, geysers, hot springs, etc. Such lands were created into national parks without much opposition, provided the lands had no commercial value. The boundary lines were drawn so as to exclude all commercial timber, all mineral deposits, all lands suitable for grazing . . . .

In this second stage of creating a national park system, we have come to realize that even though a land area may have commercial value, it may have an even greater value for national park purposes. We have discovered that, in special instances, the commercial value of a given area may be enhanced by staying the woodman's ax. There are instances where the preserving of a notable forest, especially if the forest is only one feature of an outstanding scenic region, not only enhances the commercial value of the region but makes this value a continuing one.

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² American Planning and Civic Annual, 1938.

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Of a still further evolution of the responsibilities of the Service, Secretary Ickes stated on the twentieth anniversary of the founding of the Service:

Natural wonders are not all that the National Park Service conserves for the enjoyment and inspiration of the American people. Within the past few years the scope of this bureau of the Department of the Interior has been broadened to include national historic shrines and landmarks. With this step has come a still broader conception of America as a whole. We cannot honor our heroes and sages or visit the places hallowed by them without deepening our own consciousness of what true patriotism means. It is good for us all to pause now and then to recall some of the costs and sacrifices that have gone into the making of America.

In addition to the preservation of natural wonders and national historic shrines and landmarks, the National Park Service has assumed the responsibility of establishing areas which, because of their remarkable suitability for recreational enjoyment, are of more than State importance, that is, areas which are intensively sought by persons living in many different States but which are unlikely to be acquired in sufficient extent by States. Beaches on the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Great Lakes are examples in point.

In recognition of the widespread urge for recreational travel by automobile, the Federal Government has inaugurated a program of constructing national parkways, and the National Park Service has been given the responsibility for the development of these. It has also, as part of the land-use program of the Federal Government, acquired lands in several States to demonstrate the value of the recreational use of lands in providing low cost recreation and vacation facilities near large population centers. Most of these have been intended from the beginning for State or local administration and were acquired only after approval by the State planning boards of the States in which they were located, where such boards existed.

Though the properties administered by the National Park Service fall within a dozen different classifications, with a prospective thirteenth—the national seashore—virtually 90 percent of the total area falls within two classifications—national parks and national monuments. The former are established only by act of Congress, the latter are normally created by Presidential Proclamation, under authority of the Antiquities Act of 1906. The two may be described briefly as follows:

National Parks. Areas set aside to preserve for all time, scenic, scientific, historic, or archeologic attractions of distinctly national importance and interest for the enjoyment of the people. At the present time there are 24 national parks in continental United States totaling 8,205,387.20 acres, Mount McKinley in Alaska, 1,939,493 acres, and Hawaii National Park in the Territory of Hawaii, 176,451 acres.

National Monuments. Areas containing historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest set aside commonly from lands owned and controlled by the United States. Seventy-eight monuments containing 4,452,009 acres have been established in the United States and four in Alaska containing 4,997,205 acres. The location and size of all areas in the national-park system are shown on the Recreational Map of the United States in the appendix and on the individual State maps, pages 133 to 271.

The most important of the historical areas which the Service administers are designated either as national historical parks or as national military parks. The former, of which there are four, include sites possessing national historical significance, but they are none too clearly distinguished from areas classified as monuments or military parks. The latter includes the sites of exceptionally important battles which had far-reaching results in the campaigns or wars in which they took place, and consequently on the history of the country as a whole.

The following is a summary of the areas administered by the National Park Service as of June 30, 1940:

During the 1939 travel season attendance at all areas administered by the National Park Service reached a total of 15,454,367. Of these, 6,804,216 visited the national parks, 2,566,452 the national monuments, and 2,691,315 the national historical and military parks. Transfer of a large number of historical areas to the Service from the War Department in 1933 was followed by a very great increase in total annual attendance at areas under its administration and threw the weight of that total much farther to the East. This has been heightened by the very heavy visitation accorded the new eastern national parks. While some facilities for physical recreation are provided on the many historic holdings, these are, in general, much simpler and less extensive than those found in the typical national park.

(b) United States Forest Service.

The United States Forest Service, of the Department of Agriculture, is charged with the responsibility of promoting the conservation, protection, and wise use of the country's forest resources in the public interest. Its activities proceed along three major lines: (1) administration of the national forests; (2) cooperation with the States and with private landowners in protection from fire, reforestation, and management of forest lands; and (3) forest research looking to improved methods and practices in protection, management, and efficient utilization of the forest resources.³

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³ The National Forests and Field Offices of the U. S. F. S.

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In addition to the primary responsibilities of timber production and watershed protection, the national forests furnish the public many other benefits, including recreation, grazing, game range, mining, waterpower and water supply. Recreation is one of the most important uses of many of the forests which furnish large opportunities for its enjoyment. In them over 6,000 public campgrounds and picnic areas are available. Thirty-two million six hundred thousand people visited the national forests in the fiscal year 1938 as campers, picnickers, hikers, equestrians, and motorists, it was revealed in hearings on the Department of Agriculture Appropriation bill for 1941. This does not include motorists who passed through the national forests on their way to other destinations.

National forests play an important part in the recreational life of the people. They are extensively used for camping, fishing, hunting, hiking, riding, swimming, picnicking, winter sports, and many other recreational pursuits which are most enjoyed in places characterized by naturalism, spaciousness, abundant forest growth and a fair supply and variety of wildlife, and by freedom from burdensome restrictions on movement or choice of activity. It is estimated that for the calendar year 1937, 15,127,000 people participated in these various activities. The Forest Service has provided important recreation opportunities in certain sections of the national forests and has further set aside large wilderness areas in which special attention is given to preservation of the areas. Located as a general rule at the headwaters of streams, in the mountainous or more hilly sections of the country, these wilderness areas are usually not easily accessible. They number 77, ranging in size from 5,000 to 1,870,000 acres, and contain a total of approximately 14,268,705 acres.

Remoteness from population is especially true of many of the older established forests. Some of the more recently established purchase units are within a day's drive of millions of people, such as the purchase units in southern Illinois, southern Missouri, southern Indiana, eastern Kentucky, southeastern Ohio, and west-central Michigan. The protection of existing forests and the regeneration of those forest lands which have been denuded or abused, will retard erosion, improve the surface and underground water supplies, encourage wildlife, and provide space where many people may find recreation. There are national forests or purchase units in every State except Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Delaware, Maryland, Kansas, New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut. The total area within the established boundaries of national forests and purchase units in the United States is 227,560,937 acres, of which 175,843,405 acres were federally owned or in process of acquisition on June 30, 1939.

(c) Bureau of Reclamation.

The Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service have a common objective in the development of recreation in many of the reservoir areas under Bureau of Reclamation jurisdiction. Artificial bodies of water in interesting settings, and man's ingenuity in creating them, have strong recreational appeal.

The approach between the two Bureaus is, of course, with the understanding that the dominant use and jurisdiction is within the reclamation field, and that no recreational developments inimical to the reclamation purposes involved should be permitted.

The areas themselves appear to fall into two general classes: (1) those of recreational importance by reason of the high quality, size, and engineering skill involved in the dams, and the importance of the scenery and recreation involved in the reservoir areas; (2) those smaller dams and reservoirs under full Federal jurisdiction offering good opportunities for local recreation which no agency aside from the Federal Government is in a position to develop, administer, and maintain.

In the latter instance the development program may be carried out by the National Park Service in cooperation with the Bureau of Reclamation, with the understanding that the Bureau of Reclamation will handle administration and maintenance. Since the Bureau of Reclamation is not set up to administer recreation, however, that Bureau is confronted with a serious problem in properly administering recreation. The objective is to make the National Park Service the permanent agent of the Bureau of Reclamation in connection with recreation on all of its reservoir areas, regardless of size, with the understanding that the National Park Service may, if it sees fit to do so, turn over the actual operations to a local agency, retaining, however, the basic responsibility to the Bureau of Reclamation.

In connection with projects of major recreational importance, such as the Boulder Dam National Recreation area, the National Park Service is expected to be responsible permanently for development, administration, and maintenance, just as in the case of national parks and national monuments.

(d) Office of Indian Affairs.

The Office of Indian Affairs provides for certain types of recreation for the general public insofar as such use does not interfere with the primary purpose of the lands involved.

The Indians themselves have a traditional pattern of leisure that is distinctive, including many of the basic recreational activities of the white man, such as hunting and fishing which, however, have been a vital feature of the every day struggle for existence for the Indian. Games requiring dexterity, such as lacrosse, are popular, as are dances of both ceremonial and social nature. To their own traditional games the Indians have added modern games such as basketball, baseball and football.

Since the inception of the CCC program in 1933 the recreational facilities on Indian reservations have been greatly increased with the provision of community centers, picnic grounds, beaches, shelters, etc., built by the Indians themselves as CCC enrollees.

(e) Fish and Wildlife Service.

The Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Interior is responsible for the conservation of waterfowl, big game, and other wildlife, all of which constitute an important source of recreational enjoyment. The recreational activities on the wildlife refuges under the Service's administration are held to a minimum, due to the necessity of protecting the wildlife and in order to conduct research projects associated therewith. On a limited number, however, recreational facilities are provided, including small picnic and camp areas, for the benefit of the general public who come to observe the birds and other wildlife. Under the Migratory Bird Conservation Act, fishing is permitted on refuges where not inconsistent with the use of the lands for other wildlife. Trapping also is allowed under permit on designated areas.

The Fish and Wildlife Service has primary jurisdiction over approximately 7,250,000 acres of national wildlife refuges, and, in addition, secondary control over 6,250,000 acres administered by other Federal agencies on which wildlife considerations are important. Although the number of visitors to refuges is relatively small, these areas play an important part in the conservation of other natural resources that are of recreational value. For example, the extensive holdings included in the Upper Mississippi River Wildlife and Fish Refuge help to protect the scenic values of the upper Mississippi River from Rock Island, Ill., to Lake Pepin in Minnesota. The establishment of major refuges for waterfowl along the principal flyways for nesting, feeding, and wintering grounds conserves the birds for all purposes and results in better hunting conditions throughout the entire country.

(f) Soil Conservation Service.

The Soil Conservation Service of the Department of Agriculture has jurisdiction over the land utilization projects established by the Resettlement Administration and those authorized for establishment under Title III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant Act (Public, No. 210, 75th Cong.). Under this title, the Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to develop a program of land utilization and land conservation, including the retirement of lands which are submarginal or not primarily suited to cultivation, in order thereby to correct maladjustments in land use. To effectuate this program the Secretary is authorized, among other things, to acquire by purchase, gift or devise, or by transfer from any agency of the United States or any State, Territory, or political subdivision, submarginal land and land not primarily suitable for cultivation, and to protect, improve, develop, and administer any property so acquired and to construct such structures thereon as may be necessary to adapt it to its most beneficial use. The projects, generally, have been and are being developed for grazing, forestry, recreation, and wildlife uses.

On 75 projects, recreation areas varying from a few acres to several thousand acres in extent have been or are being developed. In general they are only a small portion of the gross acreage of the projects. Some of these projects have now been transferred to State agencies for administration on a long-term lease basis. In addition to the above, certain projects have been transferred to other Federal agencies.