Acadia – Maine
Biscayne – Florida
Denali – Alaska
Everglades – Florida
Grand Canyon – Arizona
Great Smoky Mountains – Tennessee
Kenai Fjords – Alaska
Mesa Verde – Colorado
Yellowstone – Wyoming
Yosemite – California
I saw an advertisement for the series prior to it's airing and it really perked my interest. I had intended to catch as many as possible, but unfortunately I missed quite a few. Maybe I will have an opportunity to go back and watch some on line.
I was able to watch a some of the episode on the Everglades, and since it was after our readings from the Colloquium Reader, I felt a bit more informed going into it.
Growing up, I often, and somewhat still do, have the sense that everything is as it is and will forever be. When I came along, cars were already the norm, TVs and phones as well. Parks were established and we were long past the Industrial Revolution and the invention of the light bulb. I was surprised to see and learn more about the struggle it took to make parks Parks. A select few stood up and said "This needs to be protected" and without them, we would have lost a lot of land.
The Everglades were even more of a struggle. Many of the parks listed previously were already established in the late 1800s or early 1900s. People liked and wanted to protect places like Yellowstone because of it's vast and beautiful views. Backdrops of mountains and lakes that one could play in were easily agreed upon by people to protect. The Everglades were another story.
Since the Everglades are not that easy to cover by foot, vehicle, or sometimes even boat, not many people at ventured to see it. Finding help from people like Marjory Stoneman Douglas, who wrote beautifully and exquisitely in detail about the natural beauty, the importance of the Everglades grew.
It faced many dangers from plume hunters killing off the bird wildlife, and developers wanting to drain the marsh, but eventually, the Everglades became protected as a National Park in 1934.
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