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

THE DISTRIBUTION of the population is remarkably uniform and the larger cities are fairly evenly spaced. Only about 40 percent of the people are classified as urban. Agriculture is the dominant occupation.

The State park system is based upon the Iowa 25-year Conservation Plan of 1932, no revisions of which have been made subsequently. The State is well supplied with recreation areas of various types, including scenic sites and areas developed for active recreational use. The system includes a number of small holdings comparable to county and metropolitan parks in some of the other States, and several of the proposed new areas follow this same pattern.

The recreation program should be broadened to include additions to a number of existing holdings; several new State areas for active recreation and for the preservation of historic and wildlife values; a large acreage of forests and wildlife lands to be held as reservations, some of which might eventually be devoted to recreational use; establishment of county or metropolitan recreation systems for Des Moines, Council Bluffs, Davenport, and other of the larger cities, and recreation areas in and near municipalities to serve urban and nearby rural residents; and a consideration of a system of parkways and freeways.

(click on image for an enlargement in a new window)