Now in a fully updated edition, this invaluable reference work is a fundamental resource for scholars, students, conservationists, and citizens interested in America's national park system. The extensive collection of documents illustrates the system's creation, development, and management. The documents include laws that established and shaped the system; policy statements on park management; Park Service self-evaluations; and outside studies by a range of scientists, conservation organizations, private groups, and businesses. A new appendix includes summaries of pivotal court cases that have further interpreted the Park Service mission.

A guide to the unique resources available from 327 national park system facilities.

A study of threats to national parks (noise and water pollution, smog, industrial spills and acid rain) from a political perspective. The focus is on two cases: the proposed mining of the tar sands of south- central Utah, near Canyonlands National Park, and poor air quality in several western parks caused by pollution. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR