Our National Parks

Printer-friendly versionSend to friend

Our National Parks
10.21.09

A few weeks ago our household watched the PBS series “The National Parks: America’s Best Idea,” which was broadcast 2 hours a night for 6 nights without commercial interruption. This great program had multiple benefits: it was informative, entertaining, and also tested both my bladder and attention span.

Ken Burns, a skilled story teller who uses both word and picture, documented the creation of our national parks. He told the story of “an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just a radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.”

Through highs and the very lowest of lows in the economy, during war and in peace, before roads and automobiles, the National Parks got their start. What makes this an American idea, as the title suggests, is that our parks were set aside as public lands rather than private estates for the wealthy.
 
Are you one of the millions who set out each summer, family in tow, camping and exploring parks along the way? Or you may have this on your to-do list. At the end of each night’s program my husband and I were itching to pack up to see the best of the best natural areas in the U.S.

National Parks are large land holdings protecting unique features, such as those contained within Yellowstone, the first National Park. But parks come in all shapes, sizes and purposes. State, county, city, village, and township parks enrich the lives of their patrons as much as our national parks.

Take a look around Auglaize County and see that our active city parks feature playgrounds, sports fields and swimming pools. Villages and townships have land set aside for picnicking, ball games and festivals.

In Auglaize County we have the Heritage Trails Park District. Our goal is to preserve land in Auglaize County for conservation, leisure and education. Currently there are two parks in this system, Lock 14 and Deep Cut on the Miami and Erie Canal as well as the Towpath Trail between.

Imagine a day when there will be a series of parks around the county; some protecting natural features, others linear corridors connecting people to places. A place where schools can visit to learn earth science right here rather than travel out of county for such a curriculum.

Parks do not happen by accident they are the result of people looking ahead, planning, funding and finally developing the land. Parks require a few ingredients: land with the potential to be what the designer has intended; a land holder willing to have the land designated for public use; and funding to turn these ideas into reality.

The Heritage Trails Park District Board of Park Commissioners are planning for parks throughout Auglaize County. To start we are taking an inventory of natural resources, parks, recreation areas and historical sites.

Utilizing County GIS mapping tools, we will plot flood plains, green space and locate natural and historic features. We will bring these maps to public meetings and invite residents to look over and add their ideas to this process. We will then use this inventory as the basis for future park planning.

I am grateful to live in a nation that values natural area, preserves habitat, and provides access to the land for citizens to enjoy. I hope that you will take part in helping to preserve land here in the place we call home.

  
Allison Brady, Executive Director
Heritage Trails Park District
Your partner for parks in Auglaize County