National Parks Forever: Fifty Years of Fighting and a Case for Independence

by Jonathan Jarvis, T. Destry Jarvis, Christopher Johns (Foreword)

Two leaders of the National Park Service provide a front-row seat to the disastrous impact of partisan politics over the past fifty years—and offer a bold vision for the parks’ future.

The US National Parks, what environmentalist and historian Wallace Stegner called America’s “best idea,” are under siege. Since 1972, partisan political appointees in the Department of the Interior have offered two conflicting views of the National Park Service (NPS): one vision emphasizes preservation and science-based decision-making, and another prioritizes economic benefits and privatization. These politically driven shifts represent a pernicious, existential threat to the very future of our parks.

For the past fifty years, brothers Jonathan B. and T. Destry Jarvis have worked both within and outside NPS as leaders and advocates. National Parks Forever interweaves their two voices to show how our parks must be protected from those who would open them to economic exploitation, while still allowing generations to explore and learn in them. Their history also details how Congress and administration appointees have used budget and staffing cuts to sabotage NPS’s ability to manage the parks and even threatened their existence. Drawing on their experience, Jarvis and Jarvis make a bold and compelling that it is time for NPS to be removed from the Department of the Interior and made an independent agency, similar to the Smithsonian Institution, giving NPS leaders the ability to manage park resources and plan our parks’ protection, priorities, and future.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

247 pages, Paperback

Published June 3, 2022

Reviews

[Doug Houck · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Jarvis brothers make the case for moving the National Park Service from the Department of the Interior to an independent agency, similar to the structure of the EPA or the Smithsonian. Destry opens each chapter explaining the policy and his role in advocating for national parks -- mostly from outside of the agency. Jon served as the 18th NPS Director during the Obama administration. Prior to that he was the Regional Director of the Pacific West Region as well as Superintendent at Craters of the Moon, Wrangell St-Elias and Mount Rainier and other national parks earlier in his career. Jon illustrates his points with a variety of very engaging stories.
I should acknowledge, that I am retired from the NPS, and did work directly with Jon and number of other employees mentioned in the book.

[Jacob Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

National Parks Forever provides readers with a comprehensive background into the history and politics surrounding the National Park System. Jarvis and Jarvis delve into the key issues facing the parks as well as their recommendations to protect the conservation of the NPS. Although they do a wonderful job exploring the NPS, Jarvis and Jarvis’ personal and political views are strongly evident through the book limiting the scope of their audience.

[Rocks and Parks · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very in-depth look at the failures and successes of the National Park Service, NPS’ current pain points, and the policies, political appointees, and legislation that has impacted the NPS’ ability to serve as park stewards over the last 50 years.