National park

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A national park is a reserve of land, usually owned by a national government, that is protected from most human development and pollution.

The idea of a national park was first articulated in the early 19th century. In 1810 the English poet William Wordsworth described the Lake District as a "sort of national property in which every man has a right and interest who has an eye to perceive and a heart to enjoy". The painter George Catlin, in his travels though the American West, became concerned about the future of the Native Americans he met and the natural wonders he saw. In 1832 he wrote that they might be preserved:

[B]y some great protecting policy of government . . . in a magnificent park . . . A nation's park, containing man and beast, in all the wild and freshness of their nature's beauty!

The first effort by any government to set aside such protective lands was 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 Giant Sequoias (the heart of which would become the world-famous Yosemite National Park) to the state of California:

[T]he said State shall accept this grant upon the express conditions that the premises shall he held for public use, resort, and recreation; shall be inalienable for all time.

However, the vision of the National Park was not yet complete in Yosemite, and required the efforts of John Muir to bring it to fruition. Yosemite would not legally become a national park until October 1, 1890.

In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the world's first truly national park. When news of the natural wonders of the Yellowstone were first published, the land was part of a 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. Following the idea established in Yellowstone there soon followed other parks in many other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney in 1879. Banff National Park (then known as Rocky Mountain National Park) became Canada's first national park in 1887. New Zealand had its first national park in 1887. In Europe the first national park was established in 1910 in Sweden. Particularly after World War II national parks were founded all over the world.

, Guatemala

National parks are usually located in places which have been largely undeveloped, and often feature areas with exceptional native animals, plants and ecosystems (particularly endangered examples of such), biodiversity, or unusual geological features. Occasionally, national parks are declared in developed areas with the goal of returning the area to resemble its original state as closely as possible.

In some countries, such as England and Wales, areas designated as a national park are not wilderness, nor owned by the government, and can include substantial settlements and land uses which are often integral parts of the landscape.

Most national parks have a dual role in offering a refuge for wildlife and as popular tourist areas. Managing the potential for conflict between these two roles can become problematic, particularly as tourists often generate revenue for the parks which, in turn, are spent on conservation projects. Parks also serve as reserves for substantial natural resources, such as timber, minerals and other valuable commodities. The balance of the demand for extraction of these resources, against the damage this might cause, is often a very important challenge in national park management. National parks have been subject to illegal logging and other exploitation, sometimes because of political corruption. This threatens the integrity of many valuable habitats.

in Namib-Naukluft National Park, Namibia

Some countries also designate sites of special cultural, scientific or historical importance as national parks, or as special entities within their national park systems. Other countries use a different scheme for historical site preservation. Some of these sites are awarded the title World Heritage Site by the UNESCO.

In many countries, local governmental bodies may be responsible for the maintenance of park systems. Some of these are even called national parks.