Human Environment Interaction Model Of National Park

The administration of national parks is as American as apple pie; however, as the nation’s values change, significant controversy has infiltrated the discussion on how to best manage national parks and their services. The following paper provides a critical reflection on class discussion topics and support materials as they relate to national parks current events and administration. The analysis has been informed by the human-environment interaction model. The discussion includes an overview of the human-environment interaction model that can inform national park policy-making, controversy over national park boundaries, culture, conservation, preservation, and how park administration values differ across geographic boundaries. The findings …show more content…
At the heart of the human-environment interaction model is national park management. For example, the American national parks system has been developed according to the human-environment interaction model as the sole intention of establishing national parks is for citizens to enjoy the treasures of the United States natural environment (Friedman, 2017). However, establishing and managing national parks must include some degree of environmental disruption as the human factor requires transportation, energy, living quarters, and support services, such as gasoline stations, hotels/lodges, and restaurants. This scenario raises important considerations for national park administration as there is a need to both preserve nature while offering an opportunity for citizens to enjoy the environment (Clayton, 2017). A human-environment geographer will approach this scenario in a way that balances the need to protect the environment with the desire among humans to enjoy pristine natural environments. The hallmark feature of the human-environment geographer in this scenario is that he or she can balance the interests of humans with the need to protect the national parks that they enjoy visiting. Human-environment geographers also understand the human social system as highly variable across cultures and geographies. This means that they understand how society and its inherent beliefs strongly …show more content…
The debate challenges deeply-rooted values across the various America’s robust geographic cultural scale (Department of the Interior, 2017). The successful response to the debate on national park boundaries is to encourage a uniform value across all cultures that emphasizes the need to advance conservation and preservation under a human-environment interaction model. Such uniformity in policy and values must be guided at the federal level with the presidency administering leadership in establishing uniformity in values across all American citizens. This means that in terms of human values, it is important for the federal government to remind people from urban locations that preserving nature is an American value (Clayton, 2017). It is equally important to remind people from rural locations that national parks are necessary for citizens from urban locations to visit and enjoy