미국 대통령들의 위대한 유산이 그들이 남기고 떠난 국립공원들입니다.오늘 President Obama 대통령도 캘리포니아에 국가기념지역을 세 곳 지정했습니다. Castle Mountains National Monument, Sand to Snow National Monument, and Mojave Trails National Monument. 오바마대통령은 누구보다 미국의 자연보호에 적극적인 대통령으로 기록될 것입니다.
이미 미국 국부중 한 명 3대 대통령 Thomas Jefferson 은 미국 대륙의 트인 공간의 혜택의 소중함을 일깨우며, 숲 나무자르기를 경고했습니다. 그는 자신이 개인적으로 지도한 Meriwether Lewis와 William Clark 대장이 이끄는 탐험대 100여명을 3년여동안 위대한 미국 서부 자연을 기록하도록 원정 보냈습니다.
국립공원과 보호지역을 지정하는 것이 법으로 정해진 것은 아닙니다. 중요한 것은 여러 세대동안 자연을 있는 그대로 보호하자는 활동과 정치적 압력들이 현명하게 존재했다는 것입니다.
현재 400여곳이 넘는 미국의 보호지역들은 "정말 대단한 미국식 아이디어(America's best idea)"였습니다.
국가 자산인 자연을 사랑했고 정치적으로 보호하려고 힘썻던 역대 대통령들을 보세요.
미국은 정말 다양한 모습의 국립공원들이 최고죠. 젊을 때는 모두 가보는게 희망이었는데 살다보니...
Abraham Lincoln (1861-1865)Although Honest Abe had a lot on his plate during the Civil War, in 1864 he signed a bill establishing California’s Yosemite Valley and its Mariposa Grove of giant sequoias as an "inalienable public trust" to be administered by the state. That protection was an important first step in what would eventually become Yosemite National Park, now one of the most beloved parks in the world.
Ulysses S. Grant (1869-1877)Theodore Roosevelt called Grant the “father of the national parks" because Grant signed into law the country's first national park, Yellowstone, in 1872. The Grant administration had launched an expedition to explore the area and supported legislation to protect the natural treasures found there. Grant also pushed for protection of northern fur seals on Alaska’s Pribilof Islands, in what may have been the first time federal land was set aside specifically for wildlife.
Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893)An early conservationist, Harrison designated land in Alaska as a refuge that would eventually become Katmai National Park and Preserve. He also created the Casa Grande Ruin Reservation in Arizona, the first prehistoric and cultural site to be established in the United States.
Grover Cleveland (1885-1889, 1893-1897)Cleveland protected millions of acres of forest, including the iconic Stanislaus National Forest in California. He also signed orders to improve protection of Yellowstone.
Wind Cave NatioTheodore Roosevelt (1901-1909)
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)Widely recognized as the definitive conservation president, Roosevelt set aside more than 230 million acres of land for posterity. He designated the country's first wildlife refuge, in 1903 in Florida, to protect pelicans. He would go on to create more than 50 more bird sanctuaries, preside over creation of the National Forest Service, and sign the Antiquities Act, which granted presidents the authority to protect natural and cultural landmarks. He used that power to create 18 monuments and oversaw establishment of five national parks, including Crater Lake and Mesa Verde. Since then, 15 presidents have created national monuments.
Woodrow Wilson (1913-1921)Although he is better remembered for his foreign policy, Wilson also contributed to wilderness protection. He designated several national monuments, including Dinosaur National Monument on the border of Utah and Colorado, which protects the former stomping grounds of giants. In 1916, Wilson presided over the creation of the National Park Service. National parks established under the Wilson years include the Grand Canyon (it was previously a monument and reserve) and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1933-1945)FDR pushed for the creation of Olympic National Park, which protects stunning wilderness in Washington state. His administration established Joshua Tree (now a national park) and ten other monuments. FDR's Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) put millions of Americans to work planting trees, forging trails, building lodges, and making other improvements in parks.
John F. Kennedy (1961-1963)Kennedy championed a Youth Conservation Corps and signed a law that protected Cape Cod National Seashore, an area long beloved by his famous family. Kennedy also created a wildlife refuge in Delaware to protect migrating birds.
Jimmy Carter (1977-1981)In 1978, Carter designated 15 new national monuments in Alaska. One of them, Wrangell-St. Elias, eventually became the country's largest national park. The vast preserve is bigger than Yellowstone, Yosemite, and Switzerland combined.
Bill Clinton (1992-2000)Clinton expanded several national monuments and created 19 new ones, including Utah’s Grand Staircase-Escalante, California’s Pinnacles (now Pinnacles National Park), and Giant Sequoia National Monument. In all, he protected more than 27 million acres of public land.
George W. Bush (2001-2009)Bush created several national monuments, including two to preserve history—an African-American burial ground and World War II battle sites—and several that protect the ocean. The latter include the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument off the northwestern coast of the Hawaiian Islands and three marine national monuments, such as Kingman Reef, in the central Pacific Ocean that together span some 195,000 square miles.
Barack Obama (2009-present)What's next? Obama already established the largest single protected area in the world, expanding the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to almost half a billion square miles. As of today, he has designated 21 national monuments, including Browns Canyon in Colorado, the Organ Mountains in New Mexico, the fossil-rich Waco Mammoth National Monument, and a World War II internment camp site in Hawaii, and he may create a few more before his term is up.
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