Gateway National Recreational Area has received the lowest marks in this year's ranking of national parks.
The general superintendent of the National Parks Service lamely shrugs off the criticism by saying that the park "received run-off from eight million people" and that it should not be surprisng that it's not as beautiful as Yosemite or Yellowstone.
It should be surprising! Parks like Gateway, regardless of the number of natural resources it has, would be a welcome respite for the eight million or so people who live in New York City if it is simply well-managed! So at least he gets this part right:
“Most importantly, the park needs an updated general management plan and resource stewardship plan to guide natural and cultural resource management.”
Van Alen Institute is holding a competition for a new Gateway (deadline was May 7...)
1 comments:
While I absolutely agree that organizations with exceptional circumstances require exceptional management, I don't think that the Park Service should be alone in taking a hit on this. In my experience, the highest volume parks attract a great many people who come looking for the amusement park experience: they pay at the door and assume that someone else will take care of everything.
If, instead, all of the visitors recognized their own role as stewards of the stared resource of the park, there would be significantly less need for the Park Service to reinvent the way the park is managed.
-erd
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