National Parks -- The Classification System
What's In A Name
The national park system comprises more than 370 areas of special importance to the people of the United States - a system that includes exceptional natural, historical, scientific, and recreational areas in every region of the country. In 1970, Congress declared in the General Authorities Act that all units of the National Park System have equal legal standing in a national system. Today, this system includes not only "national parks," but actually encompasses 19 separate designations. In recent years, Congress and the National Park Service have attempted to simplify the basic nomenclature and to define basic criteria for use in the park titles. According to the National Park Service,
"areas added to the National Park System for their natural values are expanses or features of land or water of great scenic and scientific quality and are usually designated as national parks, monuments, preserves, seashores, lakeshores, or riverways. Such areas contain one or more distinctive attributes such as forest, grassland, tundra, desert, estuary, or river systems; they amy contain "windows" on the past for a view of geological history, imposing landforms such as mountains, mesas, thermal areas, and caverns, and they may be habitats of abundant or rare wildlife and plantlife."
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Some of the designations given to units of the National Park System are fairly straightforward and descriptive in nature, such as lakeshores, seashores, and battlefields, but others are not as easily categorized because of the diversity of resources within them. For example, Wrangell-Saint Elias, the largest unit of the NPS, actually encompasses several congressionally recognized elements, including a national park, national preserve, and wilderness. A few NPS units have received special worldwide recognition and as such have been designated World Heritage Sites or Biosphere Reserves or in some cases, both.
How New Parks Are Designated
Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through such acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906, to proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal jurisdiction. The Secretary of the Interior is usually asked by Congress for recommendations on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is counseled by the National Park System Advisory Board, composed of private citizens, which advises on possible additions to the System and policies for its management.
The National Park Service is responsible for screening new park
proposals to assure that only the most outstanding resources are
added to the system. Regardless of economic considerations or
other factors, a new national park area must contain resources
of national significance and meet specific standards established
by the NPS, including: 1) representing an outstanding example
of a particular type of resource; 2) possessing exceptional value
or quality in illustrating or interpreting the natural or cultural
themes of our nation's heritage; 3) offering superlative opportunities
for recreation, for public use and enjoyment, or for scientific
study; and 4) retaining a high degree of integrity as a true,
accurate, and relatively unspoiled example of the resource.
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An area that is nationally significant also must meet criteria for suitability and feasibility to qualify as a potential addition to the National Park System. To be suitable, an area must represent a natural or cultural theme or type of recreational resource that is not already adequately represented in the National Park System or is not comparably represented and protected for public enjoyment by another land-managing entity. To be feasible, an area's natural systems and/or historic settings must be of sufficient size and appropriate configuration to ensure long-term protection of the resources and to accommodate public use. It must have potential for efficient administration at a reasonable cost. Important feasibility factors include landownership, acquisition costs, access, threats to the resource, and staff or development requirements.