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Steven Mazzari's avatar

I am reminded of a trip with fam to the Adirondacks where a guide brought us canoeing and camping in one of the inland lakes. When my son asked about Adirondack Park becoming federal - the guide fairly hissed "son - heaven forbid we let the Feds in here"...

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John Clayton's avatar

Well said! We often think about these issues from an agency perspective. But what does the land (and its human community) want to be? In these examples, that's a poor fit with NPS.

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Lee Nellis's avatar

I had no idea about Mar al Lago.

There have also been a few “failed” national monuments.

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John Clayton's avatar

Yes, I merely chose some surprises. I had not known about Mar-a-Lago before researching this piece. I can't find that anyone has talked about the federal option for Burney Falls in the past century. And though Mather is rightly celebrated for his generosity, it's rarely in the context of support for all levels of parks.

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