We’ve done our best here to keep tabs on what has been going on politically, environmentally, economically (all intertwined, of course) in the country’s National Parks. Some of it ain’t pretty and many of the problems the parks face have nothing to do with politics, but more with unavoidable trends of migration, human settlement and suburban sprawl. Last month one the the nation’s best magazines, National Geographic (yes, the yellow-bordered one, not one of the glossy off-shoots) ran a series on the problems the parks face. It was a nice piece of journalism, but left me feeling just a little hungry for more. Vanity Fair also ran a piece about a dissident superintendent n the park service that was also interesting, but again, didn’t fully articulate the issues the park’s face. Again, I was left a little hungry for facts.
Well, it looks like another adventure magazine is going to take a whack at it. I used to subscribe to Men’s Journal until every issue seemed to be about how to get rock hard abs. But the December 2006 is actually dong some real journalism and attempting to take on this very issue of what’s wrong with the parks (and/or those who administer them). The article is called “The Plot Against America’s Parks” and is unfortunately not online (another reason MJ bugs me) and I’m actually gong to plunk down some dollars for it and will try to review it here. But for those who want to get their hands on it there you go. Ad if you’ve read it, we’d be curious to hear what you think.