Not Roosevelt’s national parks

Re “Our national parks are in crisis,” Opinion, Dec. 2

Theodore Roosevelt spearheaded the creation of our national park system and is often referred to as the “conservationist president.” Speaking of America’s natural wonders, Roosevelt said, “We have fallen heirs to the most glorious heritage a people ever received, and each one must do his part if we wish to show that the nation is worthy of its good fortune.”

Will Donald Trump be known as the “commercialization president”?

A Trump administration advisory panel recently proposed to “modernize” our national parks by allowing WiFi networks, food trucks and Amazon deliveries. The advisory panel is populated mostly by representatives of existing national park concessionaires and others that would benefit financially from expanded commercial services.

What’s next, a Starbucks at the base of the General Grant giant sequoia? I can hardly wait to book a room at the Trump Tower Yosemite. Gary Vogt

Menifee

The biggest problem is there are too many national parks, national monuments, national recreation areas, national battlefields, national preserves, national historic sites and so forth. We cannot afford them.

I belong to the Yosemite Conservancy, which pays to fix many of the problems that national park cannot afford to do with taxpayer money. Maybe we should turn some of the parks over to private enterprise and let them run them.

It sure was not the Trump administration that increased the number of parks. Bob Gregg

Glendale