The first century of our national parks
populations and ushered in the return of forests that explorers several generations later called wilderness. We still do not know the extent of these lost peoples and their humanized landscapes, but the more we look, the more our wild lands and national parks show a long-term hand of humanity.
This goes as well for our national parks in places we once thought were wild extremes. Places we now strive to explore: the rainforests of the Amazon that hide cities and farms, of Southeast Asia that surround iconic ruins such as Angkor Wat, and of Central America where hundreds of cities are now part and parcel of the Maya forest. Once thought inimical to civilization, these tropical lands were homes to civilizations and intensive farming systems that flourished for hundreds of years against droughts, sea level rise and countless other hazards.
Some may fear that the general knowledge that wild lands were once tamer may provide arguments for more human degradation. But this notion only makes these lands more precious to humanity because they represent the deep interweaving of natural and human history in living museums.
Some, like the Maya buildings with their words carved into stones, are also national libraries where researchers uncover once lost writings every year. Our global parks, planted by America’s best idea, represent the mindboggling, rich ecosystems of millions of species and their habitats and niches. Many also represent lost human histories.
More of these parks may provide answers to the most vexing problems of human interactions with nature to come, such as effective adaptations to past droughts, sea level rise and hurricanes. The scientific value of these parks alone should be reason to celebrate 100 years. They can act like a road map for humanity again in the crosshairs of myriad climate changes.
We should all celebrate the first century of the national parks for their beauty, scientific value and rich history of human interactions with the wild. Tim Beach is the Centennial Professor of Geography and the Environment at The University of Texas at Austin. Readers may email him at beacht@austin.utexas.edu.