NR 575 Exam 2 (Final) with 100% correct answers + rationales 2026

Number of annual visits to state parks:

~791 million

(Compared to 331 million to NPS that is over 3 times the visits to NPS, with 16% of the acreage of NPS)

First state park

Big Basin Redwoods State Park 1902 (Yosemite technically first, but ended up as National),

over 90% of original wiped out from exploitation (redwoods)

- very unique area because of this

Set aside because of continuous stand of ancient coast redwood trees

Exploitation of resources triggered the disease to protect lands

Ex: Anza borrego state park

One of the largest state parks in the US

Has picked it up more land recently

Because ranches are being bought as state land to connect desert land to even ocean land

Borrego: big horn sheep

Anza stands for? The first

Cuyamaca Rancho State Park

The first water reservoir for providing water to SD from this watershed

CA Prop AB 1918 Office of Sustainable Recreation

Recreation is extremely important to our economy in CA and nationally

We already have the state department....why do we need this?

Bill requires office to promote smart growth

Idea of the bill: offer the state to give some credibility to outdoor recreation

Tourism is important, we need access to parks, they want to build areas in "park deserts" like food deserts"

Focus on disadvantaged communities

Federal Land Management Agencies

Department of Interior (3)

-Bureau of Land Management = National Resource Lands

-National Park Service = National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields

-US Fish and Wildlife Service = National Wildlife Refuge

Department of Agriculture (1)

1. US Forest Service = National Forests

BLM

248 million surface acres of land in the US

60 million something acres that BLM owns with other individuals (split joint use)

1946 combined two former land agencies - the General Land Office 1812 and the US Grazing Service 1934

* General lands office was all the federal lands that the gov picked up

When the homestead act passed, land would come out of the general lands office and be given to the farmer

Other general lands were sold for cheap to people bc the gov wanted people to settle out in the land

You can control land best when you have settlements on it

Gov incentives helped provide control for the lands governed by federal gov

Native Americans started to get lands in reservations in the Western US

Have been traded to the advantage of the N Americans and not the Natives

1976 Federal Land Policy and Management Act - establishes agency's multiple-use mandate (it's the BLMs organic act)

*Consolidated more than 2,000 laws into FLPMA

By 2000, conservation was a more popular topic

the 26 million acre National Landscape Conservation System developed by Interior under Clinton, not implemented until Obama 2009 as the 2009 Omnibus Public Land Mgmt Act because Bush II didn't gaf

BLM had never had conservation in mind until this

has the most lands in our country

Mostly in nevada, Utah, New Mexico,

Arid, unfarmable, rocky, mountainous lands are normally BLM

In some cases, BLM wants to get rid of their lands if another agency wants them

BLMS are basically the leftover lands that no one wanted

But now that picture has changed a lot because now BLM want to keep control of their lands for mineral/gas/coal/oil/uranium energy resources

700 million subsurface acres (mineral lands/estate underground)

Driller gets a lot from mineral extraction, whereas BLM gets less profit and natives get the least amount of profit even though it's their land

Alaska, Nevada, Utah (these states are heavily managed for mineral development)

Not very managed, camp for free, motorized vehicles allowed (ATVS), hunting is allowed

BLM is much more open to diff types of recreation and more free with what you can do on these lands

National Landscape Conservation System

2000 - 26 million acre National Landscape Conservation System developed by Interior under President Clinton - not implemented until Obama

Mission of BLM

Multiple Use: managing public lands for a variety of uses such as energy development, livestock grazing, recreation, and timber harvesting while ensuring natural, cultural, and historic resources are maintained for present and future use.

***Unique Ability to transfer lands to other agencies, and even private individuals

commercial, recreational, and conservation activities

traditional land uses such as responsible energy development, timber harvesting, grazing, and recreation, including hunting and fishing

Value of public lands

Recreational opportunities, cultural resources, vast open spaces, traditional land uses like grazing, timber production, and energy and mineral extraction--also remain important, especially to the economic and social well being of many rural Western communities.

California Coastal National Monument

Comprised of 20,000 islands, rocks, reefs, and pinnacles along the CA coast

- Managed by BLM for conservation

Designated by President Clinton in 2000, expanded under Obama in 2014

Protected as part of the National Landscape Conservation System

US Forest Service

193 million acres of land under USFS

Manages National Forests and National Grasslands

*NFs are also multiple use lands like BLM

1881 - Division of Forestry created later became Bureau of Forestry - 1905 its renamed Forest Service

Gifford Pinchot named Chief Forester by Roosevelt in 1901

- Wanted to manage forests for conservation/sustainability "for future generations"

He was all about timber harvesting, john muir was the good guy in comparison to him

He had nothing to go by, he went to Europe, looked around at forestry management and then brought his ideas back to the US

He said If were gonna cut down trees for timber or logging, then we need to replace the trees

1891 - Forest Reserve Act passed to establish Forest Reserves from the Public Domain. No congressional approval required at that time. In 1907, Congress required their approval for the Reserves; by then 4 presidents had set aside 175 million acres

*USFS is well distributed throughout western part of US

Federal lands are mostly in the west because as people immigrated across the US they were farming and couldn't farm the mountain areas, the swampy areas, the cold/wet areas, so they found the lowlands in the midwest that were easy to farm

In mid 1800s, they started to move closer west but didn't want to because there wasn't much but they did come out because of the Homestead Act meant for farming

They're only in mountainous areas

They're the least developed because they didn't farm there

US Forests on Western side and mountains instead of Eastern and forests because all of East forest land was deforested for farming

Now all the forests are in mountainous areas in the West

More USFS History

193 millions acres of land within USFS

1905 Transfer Act moved Forest Reserves to Department of Agriculture from Interior (pressure form Pinchot)

- Moved lands from interior to agriculture to make sure that whoever the secretary of interior wasn't preserving these forests and that they were allowing them to be cut

Some forest lands were transferred to National Parks (pressure from 1st NPS Director, Stephen Mather)

Tension building between CONSERVATION and PRESERVATION

1917 the first landscape architect hired for USFS (as a result of 1916 Organic Act passing) - Frank Waugh believed that RECREATION should be one of the major uses of NFs, equal to timber harvesting.

- Pressure on NPs to preserve trees, save NFs, recreating in them so there was a move to preservation for the parks

For the forest service to come to this and hire a park architect after organic act, they succumb to the pressure and allowed some NFs to have recreation in them (theyre not just for cutting down)

1917 shift from timber harvesting → to NFS building multiple uses which is timber harvesting + recreation now

This was the turning point for NFs

1974 Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act (Requires Forest Plans)

1976 is the Forest Management Act (amended above)

Because the forest service wasnt doing a good job managing their forests

Between 1960 when multiple use act and 1976, people observed clear cutting still happening and ppl wanted to move national forests to NPS bc us forest service was being bad

Forest Management Act said noo, USFS is in charge of NFs, but whats more important is that they said enviro values are more important than economic values *TEST

Ppl started looking at economics

1999 Road Moratorium

Costs for building timber roads, the costs weren't born by timber companies but instead by tax payers

FS cuts them roads but we pay for it

Them timber companies run their trucks down these roads and dont have to manage or maintain them

They saw that recreation made more money than cutting trees (because road cost is huuuge)

Authorities said No more road building, we're putting in a road moratorium

So how does USFS make any money?

Park fees

Camping and parking feeds

But Resorts make the most money for the NFS (Mammoth, Rocky Mountains)

Outcome of the moratorium was to let every forest plan for each and every ntl forest

Cleveland has its own forest planned

Evey forest plan has to address their own budget

2000 Moratorium lifted

- emphasis for planning based on each forest area (NFS near urban areas, recreation is emphasised whereas NFs in rural, timber is emphasized)

NFs and BLMs are considered....

multiple use agencies whereas....

NPS and USFWS arent multiple use

Multiple Use Sustained Yield Act

1960s

Context: wars happening

Sustained yield: cut 10 trees, replace 10 trees

Pinchot's alternative to clear cutting: selective harvest

Individually select each tree to harvest

Mechanization had increased in the US

Clear cutting

Shave the ground

Forests in mountains are ripped out with full roots → destroying trees and entire ecosystem with sediment runoff

Less workers needed with increased tech and clear cutting

US Fish and Wildlife Service History

93 mil acres in USFWS

context: Millions of plummage taken from birds for hats

Birds were still a concern for a long time

Because of migration patterns

They fly thousands of miles to s. America up to feeding grounds in the Arctic region

What attracts them to Arctic? Mosquitos

Established refuges in migratory pattern

Birds were the reason why refugees were established

Now refugees protect many various species, but it started with birds

SD National Wildlife Refuge protects thousands of species

Goes from the coast all the way inland along the border to south eastern SD County

Over 85 species?

1903 First wildlife refuge on Pelican Island in Florida - this was response to bird decimation by plume hunting.

1909 - T Roosevelt had issued a total of 51 executive orders that established wildlife refuges in 17 states and 3 territories

Response to Roosevelt's action: a lot of concern and pushback from people who wanted to exploit resources

From 1913 until 1939, many waterfowl and wildlife protection policies passed through congress for protection and management of wildlife and their habitats.

1940 - the Bureau of Biological Survey (Dept of Ag) and Bureau of Fisheries (Dept of Commerce) merged to form the Fish and Wildlife Service (Dept of Interior)

1962 Refuge Recreation Act - authorized the recreational use of refuges if primary purpose of wildlife/habitat protection implemented

1966 - the Wildlife Refuge System administration act provided management guidelines and established standards of compatibility

- Key word: compatibility: must be compatible with the protection of wildlife habitat

Before 1997, You could ride motorcycles, camp, fish and hunt, graze.

1997 - National Wildlife Refuge System Improvement Act - required conservation planning for each refuge (each refuge must have its own management plan), strengthened the policy of wildlife-dependent recreation that is allowed in refuges

Now - over 520 wildlife refuges in 50 states and territories with over 93 million acres

Compatible recreation allowed: hunting, hiking, boating, camping, fishing

Drilling for oil is not compatible on refuges except for the alaska one where

Cant drive car on the refuge and no dogs

Why is hunting allowed?

Population control (ex: Elk in whyoming population has exploded)

Over eaten habitat and predators are gone and they're too skinny, in Wyoming they bring hay out so people

Hunting is allowed because....

it helps population to return to a healthy balance

and it brings in $$$ to ntl wildlife refuges (must purchase hunting permit and its more expensive depending on what you hunt: more rare species = thousands of dollars for a permit, elk and deer are cheap in comparison ($50)

Largest ntl wildlife refuge in US is the Alaskan ntl wildlife refuge

A big part of the whole ntl wildlife refuge system

19.5 million acres

Coastal plains are important for elk

Unique because it's the Only place where all 3 bears den (grizzlies, polar bears and black bears)

Can drill oil... why? The reason is because when it was set aside at 1980, it was very controversal whether to set it aside as a refuge bcuz of the oil, so they made an exception: "if congress approves it, it can be opened for drilling

10.02 section, "10.02 area" the coastal plane area of the refuge

Opening up a ntl wildlife refuge to oil drilling? That's not okay

Permafrost makes the ground squishy and if the oil drill is placed there, the land will sink

Must build roads a platform and much more to provide for this oil drill

If an oil company can get a permit in Colorado or gulf of mexico, that's where they want to go because of the ideal weather, so there hasn't been a lot of movement to drill in the alaska one, although as of now it is allowed, there just isn't a company claiming it

USFWS Planning: Comprehensive Conservation Plan

*USFWS land is mostly in Hawaii and east coast and nevada

Most of Alaska is either federal or state land

There is very limited private land in Alaska

National Parks History

1800s

When people became passionate about protecting parks

First NP was Yellowstone, established in 1872

Yosemite was the first federal lands set aside to become a ntl park later

Yellowstone established because the geysers so unique

1864 Yosemite Transfer (from federal to state land)

1872 Yellowstone National Park

- Most visited in the world?

Influenced other countries to develop a NPS, like Australia was the second (after US)

Followed by others...

Yosemite

Sequoia

Kings Canyon

Mount Rainer

1890 everyone was excited to make more NPs

Requires congress to approve it, senate → house → pres to get a NP approved

1890 Yosemite, Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Mt Rainier

1892 Sierra Club established by John Muir

- At this time it was truly meant and intended to be a hiking club

Nature being scary → nature being fun and adventurous

John Muir wanted to saunter, not hiking, be ever present and immersed in nature

1894 National Parks Protective Act (wildlife protection)

- Because it was similar to the birds and the refuge creation

We have NPs, but what are the rules? Who manages it? What can and can't you do?

People hunting → this act stated that in a NP you cannot hunt*TEST

You can hunt in a wildlife refuge lol

1906 - Antiquities Act (National Monuments)

- Clinton

Allows Pres to set aside land in a national monument

Obama established more NMs than any other pres

After T Roosevelt, Reagan and Bush I were the only ones who did not set aside land as presidents

Purpose of the act: protect the cultural resources that were being ravaged by hunters for native american artifacts

Utah region was used by recreationists without conservation in mind

Utah was furious, they were gonna make money from minerals and now they can't because it's a national monument

1908 - 1st conference on Conservation convened by Roosevelt, Muir not invited (differences in ideals - conservation vs preservation)

1912 President Taft recommends Bureau of Nat Parks, Taft does not approve dam at Hetch Hetchy

1913 Congress passed Raker Act allowing Hetch Hetchy to be dammed O'Shaunessy. President Wilson signs

1913 Woodrow Wilson establishes Cabrillo National Monument

1914 John Muir dies

1916 Organic Act passed - created National Park Service !!!

mission: conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Stephen Mather was 1st director of NPS

(Horrace Albright his assistant would become director in 1929).

When Organic Act passed, there were 14 NPS, 21 NMs, and each park received funding of 30,000 annual (funding more visible in NPS than NMs), each monument received $166 annually)

Money drove the failure for the bond issue of the Hetch Hetchy dam

Mather lobbied heavily for support of National Parks - he drove his car around the US drumming up funding

1916 Organic Act

Created NPS

Purpose: to conserve the scenery/ natural and historic objects/ wildlife/ for future generations

National Parks today

Currently 417 units

*NPs comprise 84 million acres of US, least amount of all the agencies we've talked about

331 million visitors

59 National Parks

Jimmy Carter responsible for adding the most acreage on land

Barack Obama added the most acreage of national monuments

1964 Wilderness Act

Applies to national parks, NMs, blm, national wildlife, and national forests. just this?

Wilderness means you can't change the area at all

What John Muir wanted for everything

Wilderness Designation

765 ntl wilderness areas

110 million acres

CA nevada Arizona Alaska Oregon

Forest Service manages the most wildernesses

NPS manages the most wilderness acres

US first coutnry to designate wilderness areas through policy

The wilderness act of 1964 established that policy

9% of BLM lands are in or waiting wilderness designation, 53% of NPS, 21% of USFWS, 20% of NF

Aldo Leopold called Wilderness a "fundamental recreation resource"

He and Bob Marshall founded the Wilderness Society in 1935

U.S. is first country to designate wilderness areas through policy

"Wilderness areas" can be applied to NPS, NMS, ntl wildlife refuges and NFs

Only thing you can do there is hike in it

Highest level of protection in the US for any land use, much less recreational land use

Technically, you can recreate in these areas

Definition of wilderness: where man and his works dominate the landscape vs where the earth

Undeveloped federal land (view link posted)

Over 90% of Yosemite is designated wilderness

Past LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY demonstrates VULNERABILITY of policy

NPS System Plan One Hundred Years: by Ken Burns *TEST

Major points they talk about in the film

Wolves as the representation of the conquering and domination of the Earth

Embraced 2 contradicting ideals: preservation of America's special places and that they should be open and accesible to all Americans

Preservation vs use

The right tensions that a democratic nation should have as it tries to figure out protecting land that should be there for all people

New park in the

Highest ideals in our national parks (homes for our finest dreams)

Attendance 189 thousand to 807 thousands (Yellowstone attendance quadrupled) after the war, everyone wanted recreation so they flocked to Yellowstone in their cars!

Wasn't enough there (hotels, camps, grounds) to accommodate

One of the aspects about the NPS which is most special is that they are landscapes of origin and childhood for so many Americans. What i meant to be an American

Adolf Muiree arrived in Mt McKinley in Alaska, first hired superintendent and one assistant, highest peak in North America

First year, 7 people came, one of them being Adolf Muiree

Recruited by the wildlife division, made a name for himself by 1940s

He called for the reintroduction of

Objected a golf course and rejected to drain a wetlands

He knew what he was doing and knew coyotes were good, not evil which is what Yellowstone people thought

Dispatched to Mt Mckinley the least visited park

Found himself on the first study ever undertaken of wolves

Wolves represent death and destruction and Americans killed them for centuries despite the park regulations and had been extinguished from sooo many NPS like Yellowstone and Rocky Mountain

Alaska was virtually the only place left in the US where wolves still existed

His curiosity and sense of science opened up the land in a new way for everyone

He Concluded that wolves actually strengthen sheep herds by filtering out the weak yet was disregarded

Park Service agreed to a limited control wolf program, elected Adolf Murie,

Once the sheed herd grew, the NPS authorized a permanent ban against all wolf killings

Let us be guardians rather than gardeners

John Muir fought the first battle against extraction

Pressure for more dams intensified as suburban sprawl developed

9 billion dollars for dam projects

Simialr Hetch Hetchy battle in the Yampa River going through Dinosaur Ntl Monument and Echo Park in Utah

If you let one NP build a damn, it will create a battle of other people demanding to build dams at other NPS

Beginning of the modern enviro movement was David Brower building a constinuincy of outtings (Sierra Club)

Wallace Stegner wrote a book about the Dino Monument

Other orgs hoped to mobilize public opinion and kill the Echo Park dam

No dam → new enviro movement had been born

Charles Stevenson - drive to Yellowstone and cars pile up

"People began wearing out the scenery"

Conrad Worth something proposed a 10 yr project "Mission 66"

NPS in danger of being "in love to death"

Fixed roads, campgrounds, doubling parks lodging capacity

Controversy between Mission 66- research more or rewatch video, about 40 mins in

Stewart Udall "Land of Liberty"

Something was driven out?

Supported north cascades

March on congress

The NPS recognized the need of the civil rights mvmt and jim crough and saw beyond as something needing to be dealth with

Abe Lincoln appreciated NPs

Parallels of history

12 yrs after MLK assasination his birthplace in atlanta was dedicated as a nm part of the NPS

NPS Video of Yellowstone

Lancelot Jones sold his own islands to the federal government

4000 parks in nearly 200 nations

Udall set aside 110 thousand acres in Alaska

Carter signed it

Biggest expansion of the NPS system, 46 million acres

AB 1918 Office of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation

The bill would establish the National Resources Agency of the Office of Sustainable Outdoor Recreation. It would promote economic development and job growth of outdoor recreation economy of the state.

Californias outdoor recreation economy is the largest in the US

Death valley is one of the most recent NPs

Very important archaeological and native american

Badwater basin is 282 feet below sea level

Not all arid, there are rivers streams and waterfalls

Grand canyon

Most visited in US

Began as National Monument (Theo set aside national monument using antiquities and later on congress made it a NP)

Zion set aside for its geology

Strong mormon and native american history

Joshua Tree set aside for trees

Facilities outside of the park whereas facilities inside of the pak in Yosemite

North Cascades

Managed by NPS and Ntl Forest, and designated as wilderness area (highest protection) and it has a national recreation area

In a ntl recreation area you can hunt

Litle facilities in the park

Remote park like ones in Alaska

Mt Whitney is jointly managed by national forest service and nps, highest trail in the US

East side is very arid

Denali Ntl Park

Sport hunting is prohibited within Denali National Park, including designated wilderness lands and the 1980 park additions.

Sport Hunting is ONLY permitted within Denali National Preserve, but not within the former Mt. McKinley National Park.

Subsistence hunting and trapping by eligible local rural residents is permitted on park and preserve lands

Where hunting is allowed, a valid hunting license is required for those 16 years or older. YOU are responsible for knowing the exact regulations where you are hunting.

Set aside because it has the highest peak in the US

McKinley/Denali 'the high one'

You can hike anywhere in the park but there aren't any trails

You can't drive your car into the park unless your camping, must shuttle into/around the park