A breathtaking country of rugged mountain peaks, uninhabited desert, and spectacular river canyons, Big Bend is one of the United States' most remote national parks and among Texas' most popular tourist attractions. Located in the great bend of the Rio Grande that separates Texas and Mexico, the park comprises some 800,000 acres, an area larger than the state of Rhode Island, and draws over 300,000 visitors each year.
The Story of Big Bend National Park offers a comprehensive, highly readable history of the park from before its founding in 1944 up to the present. John Jameson opens with a fascinating look at the mighty efforts involved in persuading Washington officials and local landowners that such a park was needed. He details how money was raised and land acquired, as well as how the park was publicized and developed for visitors. Moving into the present, he discusses such issues as natural resource management, predator protection in the park, and challenges to land, water, and air. Along the way, he paints colorful portraits of many individuals, from area residents to park rangers to Lady Bird Johnson, whose 1966 float trip down the Rio Grande brought the park to national attention.
This history will be required reading for all visitors and prospective visitors to Big Bend National Park. For everyone concerned about our national parks, it makes a persuasive case for continued funding and wise stewardship of the parks as they face the twin pressures of skyrocketing attendance and declining budgets.
By:
John Jameson
Imprint: University of Texas Press
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions:
Height: 229mm,
Width: 152mm,
Spine: 15mm
Weight: 286g
ISBN: 9780292740426
ISBN 10: 0292740425
Pages: 212
Publication Date: 01 July 1996
Audience:
Professional and scholarly
,
Undergraduate
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
"List of Illustrations Preface Prologue. A ""Fabulous Corner of the World"": An Introduction to Big Bend 1. The Campaign for Texas' First National Park 2. Texas Politics and the Park Movement, 1935-1944 3. A Park for the People from the People: Land Acquisition at Big Bend 4. Promoting a Park to ""Excel Yellowstone"": Publicity and Public Relations 5. From Dude Ranches to Haciendas: A Half-Century of Planning 6. The ""Predator Incubator"" and Other Controversies: Managing Natural Resources 7. ""The Ultimate 'Tex-Mex Project'"": Companion Parks on the Rio Grande 8. Life and Work in a Desert Wilderness: Visitor and Employee Experiences Epilogue. Big Bend at Fifty: Into the Twenty-first Century Notes Bibliography Index"
John Jameson is Professor of History at Kent State University. He has explored Big Bend since childhood.
Reviews for The Story of Big Bend National Park
The Story of Big Bend is worth the read for anyone wanting to learn what lives within the park, both in scenery and species, and the efforts undertaken by those willing to fight for it. As any natural area, its story will outlive us. Perhaps that is why we keep returning to it. * Austin Cultural Events Examiner * Jameson has a personal relationship with Big Bend, and his appreciation of the park will be apparent to even the casual reader. His work offers students of national parks a valuable case study of the often convoluted process by which such areas are established. More importantly, it affords park enthusiasts a glimpse into the lively historical and vital contemporary issues that contribute to their experience while visiting this jewel of the national park system. * Environmental History *
