Download a PDF file of this section of this report (311 KB).

Home

The national parks … are the baselines of our relatively undisturbed environment, and they need to be thoroughly understood, not only for their beauty and their wilderness and deep history, but also to realize their unique and vital contribution to science and education, particularly of the future.

Long anticipated, New Year’s Day 2000 ushered in a new century that will surely test the National Park Service in many substantial ways. The fledgling century has already witnessed the first primate extinction in two centuries, Miss Waldron’s red colobus monkey in western Africa. This is a compelling reminder of the alarming influence of human population growth and land use practices on natural systems. These trends also pose troubling challenges for the preservation of national parks in the United States. To sustain parks unimpaired for present and future generations the National Park Service must be as active as possible to understand the intricate functions of ecosystems and to educate the public about the requirements for park survival. As the following articles demonstrate, the new millennium affords the National Park Service the opportunity to consider expert viewpoints, gather information, and refine its strategy to perpetuate park ecosystems.

Articles

Discovery 2000 participants paint a vision of future park management
By Jeff Selleck

E. O. Wilson and Peter Raven highlight biodiversity preservation, education, and international assistance as growing NPS roles
By Jeff Selleck

National Park Service conducts a comprehensive study of the American public
By Frederic I. Solop and Kristi K. Hagen

Sidebars

A Look Ahead published

Advisory Board continues to boost scientific management of national parks

Natural Resource Challenge funding increases in FY 2001

/YearInReview/yir/yir2000/pages/08_looking_ahead/08_001_looking_ahead.html
Last Updated: 06/17/2001
Direct comments on this website to jeff_selleck@nps.gov