It is important to book your national parks tours now
The political climate of the United States of America is constantly in a state of flux, and is always changing depending on the values of the party that is in power. Generally, this will mean that policies may be altered slightly in one way or another in order to benefit the constituents of the majority party, but rarely does that result in complete and utter reversals of policy. The modern political climate in America is more polarized than it has ever been, and instead of the two opposing sides working towards agreements that will provide appeasement for both to some degree on issues, we are now in a time that is showing a lack of interest in happy mediums and common ground, and more one of simply using political mechanisms to advance your side and your side alone, completely ignoring the views or desires of the other. This means that we are no longer seeing slow shifts in the country’s values from one side to the other on issues, and instead immediate changes in the form of executive orders or repeals of previous policy. The Antiquities Act that was put in place by Theodore Roosevelt in order to protect American spaces that are considered national treasures has never been directly threatened since its adoption, but today it seems like it may potentially be in danger.
Theodore Roosevelt was a Republican president who supported development and industry, yet understood the need to prohibit unbridled development so as to preserve places of beauty or historical interest. This legislation created the National Parks System of the United States, and made it so that the president and congress can protect these areas from development by specifically naming them as areas of national interest. This designation will not only prevent development on the specified land, but also allocate federal money toward its preservation. This issue has always been quite controversial, as which areas are protected and which are open to development and private sale are not agreed upon. One political side may see an area that is in need of preservation, while another side sees valuable land that can be exploited for natural resources. There has generally been a common ground found in the past, and few Americans would support selling off areas like the Grand Canyon or Yellowstone to private corporations for mining or other development. This has become the case however, and today we are seeing the designation of a protected space becoming a political tool.
There have recently been executive orders signed that have begun to directly threaten the Antiquities Act as it has stood for decades, and the ability of private industry to purchase land within these designated areas for their own purposes has moved closer to becoming a reality. The unfortunate situation is that once an area is destroyed, it cannot be recovered and therefore is gone forever. There is a potential chance that the areas that we Americans have come to assume would always be available for visiting will soon not be, and may be changed forever into developed spaces that serve industrial purposes. No matter which side of this issue you stand on, it is important to understand that if you want to see our national parks in their unspoiled form as they are today, you may want to arrange your trip as soon as possible. Once the path to development has been cleared, you can be assured that it will move quickly.