Representative Sam Farr of California would like to see Pinnacles National Monument upgraded to National Park status. What makes Pinnacles so deserving? Farr believes that the pointy peaks and California Condors make it every bit as unique as Yosemite National Park.
NYTimes: The park’s status as a “national monument,” while providing protection, has become something of a misnomer, Mr. Farr suggests — not least because the designation is usually applied to the area around a specific landmark.
As The Californian newspaper reported last week, “Pinnacles has grown from 2,080 acres to 26,425 acres, is home to more than 30 federally or state-protected species, including the California condor, and offers many interpretive and educational programs.”
And becoming a national park, Mr. Farr argues, carries plenty of cachet — as well as the potential for extra tourism dollars.
So this brings up the question, IS Pinnacles that different from Yosemite? If Pinnacles isn’t granted National Park status (defined as: large natural places having a wide variety of features, including significant historic assets) does Yosemite really have any right to be called a National Park?
Tell me what you think.
Curious about the differences between National Parks and National Monuments? Check out what the different designations mean at NPCA.ORG.
Photo by Jono He.
Comments
3 responses to “What Would You Call A National Park?”
From what I’ve read, Yosemite was a much more exciting place when it wasn’t a national park.
I imagine that would be doubly-true today. Imagine the ferris wheel they could build on top of Half Dome!
I think they would undoubtedly add a tram or some kind of lift for people to get to the top of Half Dome. Did you know there was originally a hotel at the top of Vernal Fall ?
I’ve been to Pinnacles several times and it’s definitely a great place. But it can hardly compare to Yosemite, nor does it to (almost) all of the Western National Parks in terms of grandeur, beauty, variety of features, size or Wilderness. They’re both great, but it’s hard to go to Pinnacles and really imagine it could be a National Park.
Now, politically, perhaps that’s a different matter…