Recently, the safety of national parks has been threatened. In this time of science deniers in government, national parks are just land with precious resources. In America, there a total of fifty-nine national parks. Your favorite places over the summer are at risk of becoming a strip mine, a quarry, a power plant, or sold off to the highest bidder. These parks contain famous national monuments that are dedicated to our history as a country. These monuments and parks serve as places as where we can entice curiosity, wonder, and excitement in younger generations.
I’ve been to five or six national parks in my lifetime. There are places where people learn about the environment and the animals within those environments. These places need to be protected so the future can be inspired. They are places where people explore and discover new things and be influenced in pursuing a career with those things. I believe that our fifty-nine national parks should stay right where they are and be untouchable by the hands of those in government who want to abolish pristine habitats.
Everyone knows the story of the American Bison (not a buffalo) and its comeback from extinction. Stories from the times before our independence from Britain told of massive bison herds that took days to pass. Millions of bison roamed free and were used for food by the Native American tribes and the predators alike. But, of course, it didn’t stay like that. Europeans ventured to the lands of the bison and had a field day. They had no inkling of taking only what you need. They slaughtered millions of bison in what would now be called “want and waste.” You wanted it, so you killed it. But, you wasted the meat and left it to rot in the baking sun. Good job, you decimated an entire species. The species was one of the protectors of the grasslands. They kept the environment in check. Bison numbers are still climbing back to their former glory.
The same thing happened with wolves, but we actually did wipe them out. The gray wolf was feared by Europeans due to some superstitious nonsense. Wolves are still demonized today as livestock catchers. It is even in cartoons that we show to kids. There is very few a time where wolves are shown in a positive light. No one appreciates how they keep the ecosystem and environment in check. Without the wolves, the ecosystem went out of whack. Large prey species that depended on wolf predation exploded. The landscapes even changed due to the large prey amount. No human imposed hunting could keep it back. Wolves were only just reintroduced to the Yellowstone area in 1995. Even then, one of the founding alpha males was shot on sight. Even now, wolves are still shot on sight. Even now, wolf hunts still occur. Even now, wolf pups can be slaughtered in their den before they have a chance at life. If this isn’t fear hunting, then I don’t know what is.
But, you ask, what do these animals have to do with national parks?
If the national parks are stripped away and sold to the highest bidder, we will have no more animals. They will be culled because they are thought of as less than humans. The keystone species, the species key to survival of the ecosystem, will die. Whole ecosystems will collapse. There will be no more bears, cougars, wolves, bees, bison, antelope, lizards, or any life except for that of the human life. Young children won’t be able to go into a national park, see an animal and learn about its plight of survival and be inspired to help it. People who work in the national parks will lose jobs. Animals will only exist in zoos and animal parks.
When I went to Yellowstone, I went fully knowing what lies under the surface of the land we walked on. I knew why there were signs all over that told us over and over again not to step off the wooden path. I knew why the air smelled of sulfur and I knew why there are so many geothermal hotspots there. I knew why. Yet, when I told someone why, their look of surprise and shock made me wonder how people don’t realize that Yellowstone is a hotspot volcano. Rather, a very large hotspot volcano. You can see the rim of the caldera. You can see the hexagonal geologic features on the caldera rim. You can find obsidian, also known as volcanic glass, at one spot in the park. But it is illegal to take any out of the park, sorry. Hopefully, by telling someone what Yellowstone is, I inspired them to look into it more. I want people to engage in curiosity. Yellowstone is an amazing park and to lose it, the wildlife, the jobs, and the wonder it instills in people would be a great loss to America’s history. People will lose a vacation spot. Wildlife will lose their homes. Keep the national parks and keep influencing people to be curious about their world.
