Министерство  образования Республики Беларусь

Учреждение  образования «Гродненский государственный  университет имени Янки Купалы»

Филологический  факультет

Кафедра лингвистики и межкультурных  коммуникаций 
 

Курсовая работа 

The US National Parks and

Famous Natural Sights 

                                                                 Выполнила студентка 2 курса, 251 группы

                                                     специальность «Английский язык»

                                              Холевинская Марта Андреевна 

                                 Научный руководитель:

                                 старший преподаватель

                                               Овчинникова Нелли Николаевна   
 

                                                      Курсовая работа допущена к  защите 

        «     »      2010г.

                                                                  (Подпись научного руководителя) 
 

                                                                  Курсовая работа защищена

                                                                  «     »      2010г.

                                                                  оценка        

                                                                  (Подпись членов комиссии)  
 
 
 

Гродно, 2010

CONTENTS 

Introduction...........................................................................................................3

Chapter 1 National Park in the USA Ecological Politics………..5

     1.1 The Notion of a National Park.........................................................................5

     1.2 National Park System and Service..................................................................7

     1.3 Working in a National Park Unit...................................................................10

     1.4 United Nations Environment Programme.....................................................11

Chapter 2 Major National Parks in the USA.........................................13

     2.1 Yellowstone National Park............................................................................13

     2.2 Grand Canyon................................................................................................16

     2.3 Big Bend National Park.................................................................................19

     2.4 Grand Teton National Park............................................................................21

     2.5 Redwood National and State Parks...............................................................24

Conclusion.............................................................................................................28

Bibliography.........................................................................................................30

Bibliography A......................................................................................................34

Appendix A................................................................................................................39

Appendix B (CD-ROM) ...........................................................................................53

Appendix C (CD-ROM) ...........................................................................................53 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

                                     INTRODUCTION 

     Topicality of the theme lies in that  the United States of America is a country of beautiful views and natural sights. This country is famous for it National Parks. A national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, animal and environmental protection, and restricted from most development. While ideas for national parks had been suggested previously, the USA established the first National Park in the world. That’s why a word «national park» is closely connected with the United States of America. Nowadays, National Park is a part of ecological politics. Only in these parks, you can find untouched nature in their real view. All existing National Parks are a good idea to save not only nature and animals but the whole our planet. Today, we have a lot of different and difficult problems, and the most serious is the ecological problem. The creation of National Parks all over the world is the first solution of this big problem. During the 19th-20th centuries National Parks had been created in the USA, and now there are 58 National Parks in this country. All American Parks are the best examples of how to save our nature. Americans were one of the first people who had tried to save the planet, and creation of National Parks are theirs great achievement. Besides, National Parks are a prominent tourists’ attraction which fulfils important learning, recreational, and economic functions.  

     The aim of the course paper is to learn more about American National Parks and Famous Natural Sights, its past and present and analyse the potential of National Parks as tourist resources.

     Tasks of the course paper:

     1) to define the notion of a National Park;

     2) to analyse the past and the present of National US Parks; 

     3) to explore National Park System and Service;

     4) to investigate Park’s Foundation and Conservation Association;

     5) to examine Park’s budget and the main projects;

     6) to learn more about working in a National Park Unit;

     7) to reveal the main idea of United Nations Environment Programme;

     8) to describe the major National Parks in the USA, their history, geography and geology, biology and ecology;

     9) to summarize all necessary information for tourists who would like to visit US National Parks.

     The structure of a course paper includes CONTENTS, INTRODUCTION, 2 CHAPTERS, CONCLUSION, BIBLIOGRAPHY and BIBLIOGRAPHIES A, and APPENDI A, B, C. The volume of the course paper is 29 pages. The whole bibliography consists of 96 positions. The whole course paper consists of 53 pages.

     In an introduction we examine the topicality of the chosen theme, the main aim and tasks of a course paper, the structure and volume of a course paper. Chapter 1 opens the main ideas of National Parks, its notion and functions, its past and present. There is information about National Park System and Service, Park’s Foundation and Conservation Association, Park’s budget and main projects, working in a Park Unit, the United Nations Environment Programme. Chapter 2 gives the description of major US National Parks: Yellowstone National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Big Bend National Park, Grand Teton National Park, and Redwood National Park, their history, geography and geology, biology and ecology. In this chapter, there is also, necessary information for visitors. Conclusion gives the summary of the main ideas and notions of US National Parks, the main ideas of US major National Parks. The whole bibliography consists of 96 positions. Bibliography consists of 38 positions, which contain magazines, encyclopedia, books, and electronic resources (it belongs to chapter 1 and chapter 2). Bibliography A consists of 58 positions (it belongs to appendix A). Appendix A contains a table «List of National American Parks», appendix B contain illustrations to chapter 1, and appendix C – to chapter 2 (all illustrations are on the CD-ROM).

     Practical importance of the research results. There are lot materials, films and illustrations to show. That’s why it would be rather interesting to learn the USA National Parks at classes of American studies.

     National Park is a part of ecological politics. It helps us to save our planet in her untouched view. It would be rather interesting to discuss this problem after learning the topic «The US National Park and Famous Natural Sights». As well, the material could be used as part of Ecological studies classes, and out-off school activities.

     This topic would be interesting not only for students but for all people, who like travelling, visiting and discovering new places.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

CHAPTER 1

NATIONAL PARK IN THE USA ECOLOGICAL POLITICS 
 

       1.1 The Notion of a National Park  

       A national park is an area protected by the national government of a country in order to preserve a scenic landscape, species of plants and animals, or structures and artifacts of historical importance. A strict nature preserve where public access is forbidden and areas set aside exclusively for scientific research would not qualify as a national park. Parks may be of all shapes and sizes, but most people think of national parks as vast areas containing tens of thousands or even millions of acres where visitors can leave behind the stresses of civilization and enjoy a natural environment largely untouched by humans [1, Pp. 766- 777].

     While ideas for national parks had been suggested previously, what is held to be the first one established was the United States’ Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872. An international organization, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. According to the IUCN, there are about 7000 national parks worldwide (2010 figure). In 1969 the IUCN declared a national park to be a relatively large area with particular defining characteristics. A national park was deemed to be a place:

• with one or several ecosystems are not materially altered by human exploitation and occupation, where plant and animal species, geomorphological sites and habitats are of special scientific, educative and recreative interest or which contain a natural landscape of great beauty;
• the highest competent authority of the country has taken steps to prevent or eliminate as soon as possible exploitation or occupation in the whole area and to enforce effectively the respect of ecological, geomorphological or aesthetic features which have led to its establishment;
• visitors are allowed to enter, under special conditions, for inspirational, educative, cultural and recreative purposes.

     In 1971 these criteria were further expanded upon leading to more clear and defined benchmarks to evaluate a national park. These include:

• a minimum size of 1,000 hectares within zones in which protection of nature takes precedence;
• statutory legal protection;
• a budget and staff sufficient to provide sufficient effective protection;
• prohibition of exploitation of natural resources (including the development of dams) qualified by such activities as sport, fishing, the need for management, facilities, etc [2].

     When the first European settlers arrived in the New World early in the 17^th century, the future United States was, of course, one vast park. The hunting and gathering and rudimentary agricultural practices of the Native Americans had left little impact on the land. The Europeans, busy establishing viable outposts of civilization in the midst of a wilderness, did not consider giving any of the land legal protection [1, Pp. 766-777].

     The first effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was in the United States, on April 20, 1832, when President Andrew Jackson signed legislation to set aside four sections of land around what is now Hot Springs (Arkansas) to protect the natural, thermal springs and adjoining mountainsides for the future disposal of the US government. It was known as the Hot Springs Reservation. However no legal authority was established and federal control of the area was not clearly established until 1877.

     The next effort by any government to set aside such protected lands was, again, in the United States, when President Abraham Lincoln signed an Act of Congress on June 30, 1864, ceding the Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Gian Sequoias (later becoming the Yosemite National Park) to the state of California.

     In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world’s first truly national park. When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone was first promulgated, the land was part of a federally governed territory. Unlike Yosemite, there was no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, so the federal government took on direct responsibility for the park; a process formally completed in October 1, 1890 - the official first national park of the United States. It took the combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and especially businesses – namely, the Northern Pacific Railroad, whose route through Montana would greatly benefit by the creation of this new tourist attraction – to ensure the passage of that landmark enabling legislation by the United States Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt, already an active campaigner and so influential as good stump speakers were highly necessary in the pre-telecommunications era, was highly influential in convincing fellow Republicans and big business to back the bill. Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed parks in other nations.

     Today, the United States has 58 protected areas known as National Parks (APPENDIX A). All National Parks are operated by the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of the Interior. National Parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. The first National Park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. In 1916, the Organic Act created the National Park Service «to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and wildlife there in 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» [3]. Many National Parks had been previously protected as National Monuments by the President under the Antiquities Act before being upgraded by Congress. Seven National Parks are paired with a National Preserve, six of which are in Alaska. While administered together, they are considered as separate units and their areas are not included in the figures below. The newest National Park is Great Sand Dunes, established in 2004.

     Twenty-seven states have National Parks, as do American Samoa and the United States Virgin Islands. Alaska and California, each with eight, have the largest number of National Parks, followed by Utah with five and Colorado with four. The largest National Park is Wrangell – St. Elias, at over eight million acres, followed by three more in Alaska; the smallest is Hot Springs, at less than six thousand acres. The total area protected by National Parks is over 51 million acres, for an average of 895 thousand acres but a median of 317 thousand acres. The National Park with the greatest visitation is Great Smoky Mountains, with over nine million visitors in 2009, followed by the Grand Canyon, with over four million. Fourteen parks are also designated World Heritage Sites [4, Pp. 13-56].  

     1.2 National Park System and Service

     National Park System is a term that describes the collection of all units managed by the National Park Service. The title or designation of a unit need not include the term «park»; indeed, most do not. The National Park System includes all properties managed by the National Park Service. It also provides technical and financial assistance to several «affiliated areas» authorized by Congress. Although all units of the National Park System in the United States are the responsibility of a single agency, they are all managed under individual pieces of authorizing legislation or, in the case of national monuments created under the Antiquities Act, presidential proclamation [5; 6, Pp. 57-81].

     The National Park Service (NPS) is the US federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations (APPENDIX B, Ill.2). It was created on August 25, 1916, by Congress through the National Park Service Organic Act.

     It is an agency of the United States Department of the Interior, a federal executive department whose head, the Secretary of the Interior, is a Cabinet officer nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Most of the direct management of the NPS is delegated by the Secretary to the National Park Service Director (APPENDIX B, Ill.3), who must now also be confirmed by the Senate.