visited his first national park when he was nine years old. “Fifty years later, I can still remember that trip, day by day,” says Duncan. “We went to Badlands, to Little Bighorn Battlefield, to Yellowstone, Grand Teton, Dinosaur National Monument, and through Rocky Mountain National Park … one of the most memorable aspects was arriving in Yellowstone two days after the horrific earthquake of ‘59. We experienced a number of major after-shocks during our visit. I’ll never forget that.”

Working with noted PBS pro- it can affect people’s lives.” ducer , Duncan re- The inception ofThe National A Remarkable Inheritance cently co-produced the six-epi- Parks: America’s Best Idea series sode PBS documentary series The followed a natural and logical T e l l i n g t h e S t o r y o f National Parks: America’s Best progression in the writer and Idea, which begins airing this fall. producer’s creative process. “In Duncan and Burns have an im- 1998, I took my young family on pressive track record of working a long trip to , focusing America’s together to create award-winning on national parks. Seeing my documentaries that strike a par- children experience their first ticularly sentimental chord about national parks reawakened my American history, including The memories from the trip I took as Civil War, Baseball and , as a boy with my parents — and National Parks well as a 12-hour series about the I realized how important parks history of the American West. are to the nation as one of the By Wendy K. Pro b s t Two of Duncan’s favorite out- Of PBS Duncan says, “We like that we can make each scene last refuges where precious mem- door activities are hiking with his as long or short as we think makes artistic sense.” Left: Grand ories can be safely stored and family and smoking his pipe. Teton National Park; above from left: cinematographer then passed on from one genera- “One is obviously more healthful; Buddy Squires, Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan at Grand Teton. tion to the next. Name any other one is more relaxing,” he says. place in the land where the “Dianne, my wife, enjoys hikes, as does same scenes — unchanged — 50 years same can be said.” Once the idea was our 18-year-old son, Will. Emme, 21, later because we, as a people, had decided there, Duncan proposed it to the man he considers ‘hike’ a four-letter word, though to preserve them unimpaired for future knew could help to bring his vision and we sometimes fool her into a ‘walk.’” They generations. That’s a remarkable inheri- message to fruition, Ken Burns. “I real- all enjoy swimming and kayaking on tance we all share, and I wanted to make ized that, like jazz and baseball, the na- New Hampshire lakes near their home. that clear to every American.” Duncan’s tional parks are a uniquely American “My parents were able to take me and sister has a deep devotion for the Appa- invention. We had already done docu- my sister to the national parks because lachian Trail in particular. “She and her mentaries on the other two, so convincing they were affordable and we had as much husband now live in eastern Pennsylvania Ken to do one on the national parks took right to them as anyone else in the nation,” because they love that section so much; me about 30 seconds.” says Duncan, whose inspiration to create and their small church near the Delaware Dayton Duncan is a highly celebrated such a documentary came from the na- Water Gap provides regular shelter and author. Two of his books People of the tional parks’ accessibility and consistency. food to hikers. I think that shows the West, and The West: An Illustrated History “I was able to show my children the exact power of the park idea and how deeply for Children are focused on a young audi-

10 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 11 “Doing this project took me to all 58 of the national parks; I stood with our camera crews in the best moment of everday — dawn — waiting for the perfect light in the best possible location.”

ence. The America’s Best light in the best possible Idea series will also serve as location. And, because I an excellent conduit for work with such talented reaching young audiences. people, I enjoy the collab- “Our series will make a great orative process in the edit ‘campfire’ around which “I have the best job in the rooms, when the words families can gather to listen world,” says Duncan. Above: I’ve written take on new to stories and witness some Buddy Squires and Dayton life with the images, the of the most spectacular Duncan in Grand Canyon music, and the voices of scenery on earth. I think National Park; right: South the past coming to life, young people will enjoy Rim, Grand Canyon. creating something far meeting fascinating people more than I could have from the past, and I think they’ll like hoped for from the printed page.” seeing the bears of Katmai, the bison of From inception to completion it took Yellowstone, the wolves of Denali — and more than ten years to create the Ameri- learning how the parks played a role in ca’s Best Idea series. “I started doing the keeping such magnificent animals from initial research and scouting at various extinction.” But both Duncan and Burns parks, while still finishing two other certainly do not limit their audience in any documentaries on and the way; their distinct desire with this and first automobile trip across America, says other series is to find a common ground Duncan. “We shot in 53 of the 58 na- that any viewer could connect with. tional parks, compiled 800 rolls of film, “We make our films for the broadest [and] amassed 12,000 archival photo- possible audience, not any specific demo- graphs.” Duncan explains that in under- graphic segment. Our hope would be that taking a topic with such a massive his- as many Americans as possible see our torical and geographic scope, patience is film and realize what a string of treasures the best practice. “We deliberately take they own, simply by virtue of living in a long time on our films, especially a this country,” says Duncan. “We hope major series like this one. It allows us the that people already familiar with the opportunity to explore the topic fully parks will be fascinated to learn about the before making final decisions about what wide variety of people who made those stays in and what has to go, and it per- parks possible; and we hope that people mits us to steadily improve our storytell- who haven’t yet visited a park will be in- ing. It’s a constant process, and I love spired to go to one.” every part of it.” Of writing and producing, Duncan The collective voice of the series is that says he is a writer first. “I love the research of hundreds of individuals, some quite and the challenge of translating what I’ve historically obscure; and a portion is de- learned into stories that are factual and voted to the untold stories of these lesser compelling emotionally,” he says. But he known contributors to the parks. “The also loves the work involved in producing. national parks are for everyone, regardless “Doing this project took me to all 58 of of their race, their ethnicity, their gender, the national parks; I stood with our cam- or even how long they’ve been in Ameri- era crews in the best moment of every ca,” says Duncan. “That’s the central tenet day —dawn — waiting for the perfect of the park idea, the American tilt that in

12 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 13 “If you stand on the rim of the Grand Canyon, or watch a bison herd walking across Yellowstone’s Lamar Valley, ... or see a flock of birds crossing the horizon at Everglades, or walk a trail in the Great Smokies, ... it’s pretty hard not to have that experience move you in some way.”

essence applied the Declara- of Everglades National Park.” tion of Independence to our The personal and profes- landscape and made possible sional devotion that both something that had never hap- Duncan and Burns infused pened in any other country, into the series is sure to pro- where the special places were mote greater park use. “Show- reserved solely for the rich or ing people the majesty of the for royalty … we found that, parks — while telling them from the very start, people the stories of their creation from every walk of life have “It’s a sweeping story, filled with wonderful characters — some well- and demonstrating that these played a role in the evolution known, some totally unknown to most Americans,” says Duncan. Left: precious places belong to of the park idea.” Among these climbing ranger Lincoln Else at Merced River, Yosemite National Park; them — will prompt many are: the African American above: George Masa in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Americans to go out and see Buffalo Soldiers who were the photo courtesy the Pack Memorial Public Library. those places,” says Duncan. first protectors of Yosemite “If you stand on the rim of and Sequoia; George Masa, a Japanese series, Duncan got to know a lot of ex- the Grand Canyon, or watch a bison herd immigrant who was instrumental in map- traordinary people, from the past and the walking across Yellowstone’s Lamar Val- ping portions of the Appalachian Trail in present. “I thought I already knew John ley, or stand in the shadow of a giant se- the Great Smokies; George Melendez Muir, but I hadn’t fully realized what a quoia in Yosemite, or see a flock of birds Wright and his crusade for the wildlife remarkable human being he was — and crossing the horizon at Everglades, or and plant life; the painter Chiura Obata what an eloquent voice for preserving the walk a trail in the Great Smokies, or wit- in Yosemite; Lancelot Jones, whose father natural world,” he says. George Melendez ness lava creating brand new land at had been a slave, and who helped save Wright, who fought to convince the Park Hawaii Volcanoes, it’s pretty hard not to Biscayne Bay; and currently Gerard Bak- Service that their mission was more than have that experience move you in some er, a Mandan-Hidatsa, who is the first protecting scenery, [but] protecting ani- way. It becomes an even more powerful Native American superintendent at mals and plants in their natural state, has experience if you’re sharing it with your Mount Rushmore, where he is trying to become a personal hero of mine, as is children or someone else you love. And make sure that the whole story of the Adolph Murie, who fought for the protec- more powerful still when you realize that Black Hills is told. tion of Denali’s wolves — a vision that what you’re seeing is what generations Duncan says that he and Burns “fo- found its later expression when wolves before you have seen,” says Duncan. “In cused on the people whose passion and were restored to Yellowstone. Both were many ways, these awe-inspiring, often dedication resulted in parks being powerful voices who turned the park idea majestic places not only make us under- added to the system and on how the in an important new direction.” stand how ‘small’ we are as individuals park idea broadened beyond the majes- The series tells the story of others with one short lifetime, they somehow tic western parks to include places like whose passion was to protect America’s make us feel ‘bigger’ because we have Mesa Verde (preserving the ruins of an wildlife. “Without Yellowstone National connected to something far bigger than ancient civilization), Acadia (first park Park — and the efforts of people like John ourselves. And we’re a little prouder of in the East, created out of gifts of pri- F. Lacey, Theodore Roosevelt, and George our nation for having saved such places. vate land), the Everglades (created to Bird Grinnell — the bison would have John Muir called it a ‘good practical sort preserve an ecosystem of remarkable disappeared on our continent. No park, of immortality,’ I think many people have birds, animals, and plants), and then no buffalo — it would have been as simple felt it, and in the end it’s that personal historic sites and battlefields, national as that,” says Duncan. “Those same three connection that makes Americans love seashores and wild rivers and trails such were also instrumental in laws that pro- their parks so fiercely.” as the Appalachian Trail.” tected plumed birds from the slaugh- While working on the script for the ter — and ultimately led to the creation Photos by Craig Mellish, courtesy PBS.

14 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 a.t. journeys March–April 2009 15