Parks, Politics, and the People Parks, Politics, and the People Parks, Politics, and the People Conrad L. Wirth Foreword by Melville Bell Grosvenor CONTENTS NEXT >>> Parks, Politics, and the People ©1980, University of Oklahama Press wirth2/index.htm — 21-Sep-2004 Copyright © 1980 University of Oklahoma Press, returned to the author in 1984. Offset rights University of Oklahoma Press. Material from this edition may not be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the heir(s) of the Conrad L. Wirth estate and the University of Oklahoma Press. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/[12/18/2013 10:56:41 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People (Table of Contents) Parks, Politics, and the People Table of Contents Cover Dedication Preface Foreword 1. An Overview 2. Introduction to Washington: The National Capital Park and Planning Commission 3. The National Park Service 4. The New Deal: The First Hundred Days 5. The Civilian Conservation Corps 6. The CCC: Accomplishments and Demise 7. Other Emergency Period Programs Natural History and History Associations Historic Sites Act of 1935 Park, Parkway, and Recreational-Area Study Act of 1936 Recreational Demonstration Areas Historic American Buildings Survey Seashore and Lakeshore Studies Shangri-La Park Structures and Facilities Digest of Laws Relating to Local Parks and Recreation 8. War: Hot and Cold 9. Mission 66 and the Road to the Future 10. The Winds of Change 11. Congressional Relations: Official and Personal The House Appropriations Committee The Senate Appropriations Committee Legislative Committees The House Public Lands Committee http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/contents.htm[12/18/2013 10:57:04 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People (Table of Contents) The Senate Interior and Insular Affairs Committee Some of the Pretty Good Guys 12. Advice: Good and Bad 13. Some Observations from Retirement The Civil Service and "Schedule C" Political Activity of Government Employees Government and the Governed Conservation and Wilderness Management A Personal Note Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Wirth, Conrad Louis, 1899- Parks, politics, and the people. 1. National parks and reserves—United States— History. 2. Parks policy—United States—History. 3. Wirth, Conrad Louis, 1899- 4. United States. National Park Service—Officials and employees— Biography. I. Title. SB482.A4W57 353.0086'32'0924 79-6709 ISBN 0-8061-1605-6 Copyright©1980 by the University of Oklahoma Press, Publishing Division of the University. Manufactured in the U.S.A. First edition. <<< PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT >>> Parks, Politics, and the People ©1980, University of Oklahama Press wirth2/contents.htm — 21-Sep-2004 Copyright © 1980 University of Oklahoma Press, returned to the author in 1984. Offset rights University of Oklahoma Press. Material from this edition may not be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the heir(s) of the Conrad L. Wirth estate and the University of Oklahoma Press. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/contents.htm[12/18/2013 10:57:04 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People Parks, Politics, and the People Parks, Politics, and the People Conrad L. Wirth Foreword by Melville Bell Grosvenor CONTENTS NEXT >>> Parks, Politics, and the People ©1980, University of Oklahama Press wirth2/index.htm — 21-Sep-2004 Copyright © 1980 University of Oklahoma Press, returned to the author in 1984. Offset rights University of Oklahoma Press. Material from this edition may not be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the heir(s) of the Conrad L. Wirth estate and the University of Oklahoma Press. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/index.htm[12/18/2013 10:57:14 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People (Dedication) Parks, Politics, and the People Dedication It is with deep appreciation that we dedicate this book to those who have made possible the opportunities that have been ours down through the years: Our Parents Professor Frank A. Waugh General U. S. Grant III Mr. Horace M. Albright Secretary Oscar L. Chapman Mr. Laurance S. Rockefeller Dr. Melville Bell Grosvenor and The National Park Service employees for their loyalty, hard work and devotion to the national park concept. Conrad L. and Helen O. Wirth <<< PREVIOUS CONTENTS NEXT >>> Parks, Politics, and the People ©1980, University of Oklahama Press wirth2/dedication.htm — 21-Sep-2004 Copyright © 1980 University of Oklahoma Press, returned to the author in 1984. Offset rights University of Oklahoma Press. Material from this edition may not be reproduced in any manner without the written consent of the heir(s) of the Conrad L. Wirth estate and the University of Oklahoma Press. http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/dedication.htm[12/18/2013 10:57:23 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People (Preface) Parks, Politics, and the People Preface The motivation to provide an account of my thirty-six years of experience in planning and administering national parks and other recreational areas grew out of the belief that such an account would be helpful to people who want to pursue careers in public service, particularly in the field of conservation of our natural and human resources. It has been said that public servants live in a fishbowl. The public, Congress, and heads of government departments are constantly scrutinizing everything government employees do. Every letter they write, every document or plan they work on is the public's business. Public servants are subject to constant criticism, and they are often the victims of misrepresentation without benefit of any opportunity or means for rebuttal. Yet many of the best administrative, professional, and scientific people in the country are government employees. It is my belief that close observation by the public makes government employees more alert and proficient than they would be otherwise. Their skill and attitudes are thereby frequently adjusted and improved for better service to the country. This is not to say that government service is all unrewarding drudgery. My point is simply that people should know as much as possible about the ups and downs of their proposed life's occupation and should select one they will enjoy, for if they do not enjoy their work they will not achieve success. Remember President Harry Truman's advice: "If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen!" Although this statement was made in a political frame of reference, it can apply as well to any occupation, including working for the people at any level of government. The event that crystallized my decision to write this, my first book, was the receipt of a letter dated January 5, 1957, from President Robert F. Goheen of Princeton University informing me that I, along with my counterpart and good friend in the United States Forest Service, Chief Forester Richard J. McArdle, had been selected to receive the Rockefeller Public Service Award for distinguished service to the nation in the field of conservation of resources. In his letter President Goheen said: The purpose of the University and of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd in establishing the program was to strengthen public service by giving recognition to distinguished civilians in the federal government, to improve the public service as a career, and to make it possible for experienced men and women thus recognized to pass on to others some of the fruits of their career experience. Because of this last feature, the Trustees hope you will want to make some further contribution of your own, and to that end the University is prepared to provide financial assistance. .. You have no obligation to the University nor to anyone else in connection with, or as a condition to receiving, the Award. In my reply I stated: http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/wirth2/preface.htm[12/18/2013 10:57:31 AM] Parks, Politics, and the People (Preface) I believe I understand fully the objective of the Princeton University and of Mr. John D. Rockefeller, 3rd in establishing the award, and the desirability of following certain procedures in order to obtain full benefits from its intended purpose. I am wholeheartedly in support of its purpose of creating in the public's mind an accurate picture of the scope and quality of work done by career public servants, which I hope will, at the same time, improve the quality of the career service. I have been thinking about this book for a long time. When I retired from government service in 1964, I gave more thought to it, indicating in my retirement letter to my associates in the National Park Service that among the several things I was going to do in retirement was write a book, and a lot of people encouraged me to do so. I have tried to relate in an interesting way not only my own experiences but those of some of my associates and of the Park Service as a group, experiences that we have had as career public servants. Some of these episodes I think are quite interesting as illustrations of the problems that arise in public administration and of how they are approached and resolved. In telling of these experiences I hope to convey the overall importance of the human values in public service. Although this book has turned out to be more about my own life in government than I originally intended, nevertheless that is perhaps the best way I can describe what government service is really like—its good points and its bad ones. Certainly it is the life I am best acquainted with, and I consider myself to be representative of thousands of other government employees. Much of the content of the book was assimilated from many years of association with National Park Service people in a common effort to serve our country as managers of the people's heritage, natural and man made.