Lesson 15 Parks Recreation and Open Space Flashcards
Yellowstone
the first national park, designated in 1872
The National Park Service
created in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act of 1916 (an Organic Act is an act that establishes a territory or an agency to manage federal lands).
John Muir
an early advocate for the creation of a national park system. He wrote extensively for popular publications, bringing national attention to sites that would ultimately become national parks, including Glacier Bay and Mount Rainier. He also championed protecting the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon.
Theodore Roosevelt
created five national parks
signed the Antiquities Act, which
created 18 national monuments, including the Grand Canyon.
He created 51 federal bird sanctuaries,
four national game refuges, and
more than 100 million acres of national forests.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
dramatically improved national parks through the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was set up during the depression.
There was also an expansion of the park system under FDR, including the addition of civil war battlefields and the Lincoln Memorial into the care of the National Park system.
He also helped create Olympic and Kings Canyon National Parks, and directed funds to purchase land to create the Smoky Mountains National Park (the first time federal funds were used to purchase park land).
Parks
generally thought of as natural, semi-natural or planted spaces set aside for recreation or for the protection of natural habitat.
Linear parks
significantly longer in length than in width.
The New York High Line is an example of a linear park.
Neighborhood parks
provide access to basic recreation opportunities for residents of a neighborhood. They are ideally within walking and bicycling distance of most residents and are small in size, typically five or fewer acres.
Community parks
serve a one to five-mile area and are typically 20 to 100 acres in size providing a mix of amenities to serve an entire community.
Regional parks
may be managed by a special park district and serve multiple jurisdictions.
Parks have level of service standards.
For example, standards include the percentage of the population within a ½ mile of a neighborhood park or trail.
The National Recreation and Parks Association maintains a Park Metrics database that is a good source.
In this example from Appendix C (pg. 27) of this report from the State of Washington, a service level of A would have 75% or more of the population within a ½ mile of a neighborhood park or trail, 5 miles of a community park, and 25 miles of a regional park.
A ParkScore
is a rating system for the 100 largest U.S. cities, developed by the Trust for Public Land.
The four characteristics that are analyzed for a ParkScore are:
acreage, investment, amenities, and access. More on ParkScore can be viewed here.
A Greenway
any scenic trail or route set aside for travel or recreational purposes.
Scenic resources
landscape patterns and landscape features that are aesthetically pleasing and contribute to the distinctness of a community or region.
A Viewshed
is the area that is visible through a line of site from a location.
Napa County California has a viewshed ordinance to protect views from certain locations in the County.
A Wildlife Corridor
the linkage that joins two similar wildlife habitats.
The Natural Resource Conservation Service provides guidance on conservation corridor planning.
Conservation Easements
legal agreements between a property owner and a land trust (or other organization) in which the property owner agrees to place restrictions on the use of the property to protect natural resources.
The Natural Resource Conservation Service has an agricultural conservation easement program, as an example.
Transfer of Development Rights
programs allows for the transfer of development rights from an area that is designated for low-density development to an area planned for growth.
The Antiquities Act of 1906
established that archeological sites on public lands are public resources and obligated federal agencies to preserve sites for future generations.
Additionally, the law authorizes the President to protect landmarks, structures, and objects of historic or scientific interest by designating them as National Monuments.
For example, in 2016, President Obama designated the Mojave Trails National Monument, which contains 1.6 million acres of ancient lava flows and sand dunes.
The Organics Act of 1916
established the National Park Service to manage national parks and national monuments.
The Historic Sites Act of 1935
sought to organize federally owned parks, monuments and historic sites under the National Park Service. It also declared a national policy to preserve historic sites, buildings, and objects of national importance for public use.
The Wilderness Act of 1964
created the National Wilderness Preservation System. The Act defined wilderness as “an area of undeveloped Federal land retailing its primeval character and influence without permanent improvements or human habitation.”
According to the National Park Service, as of 2016, there are more than 106 million acres of federal public lands designated as wilderness.
The National Wild and Scenic River Act of 1968
seeks to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of current and future generations.
Rivers are designated by Congress.
As of 2018, the National System protected 12,754 miles on 209 rivers in 40 states and Puerto Rico.
