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Shenandoah National Park

How The National Park Service Grappled With Segregation During The 20th Century

Separate campgrounds, dining rooms, picnic grounds, and restrooms. Maps and signs that directed blacks to destinations away from whites. This was the landscape of segregation in some national parks during that divisive chapter of the country’s history. While the signs have been taken down and the separation erased, there remain remnants of that dark period in a number of parks today.

National Parks Traveler Episode 26: Segregation In The Parks, And Winter In Everglades

Dr. Erin Devlin, a professor of American history from the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, discusses her research into sites in national parks in Virginia that were associated with segregation during the first half of the 20th century. Host Kurt Repanshek also takes a look at Everglades National Park and why it's a great park destination during the winter months.

RVing The Parks | Top Tips For National Parks With RV Hookup Campsites

During our 20s and early 30s, we carried a pack into the woods. But after one taste of the RV life, we were hooked. Sleeping on the ground became a thing of the past once my husband and I discovered the joys of camping in spectacular settings with the option to enjoy water, electric and sewer utilities. If you’ve ever considered doing the same, here’s what you need to know about plugging into America’s national parks with RV hookup campsites.

Endangered Species Day In The Parks: Lots To Save

The National Park Service more than a century ago was directed to manage national parks so as to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein 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." Today the agency in places seems to be losing the battle when it comes to plant and animal species considered either "threatened" or "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.

Consolidation In Managing The National Park Lodges

Who really does manage most national park lodgings? For the big operations in places such as Yellowstone, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Glacier, and Shenandoah, corporations. Not surprisingly, while many of the 500 management contracts administered by the National Park Service, such as providing firewood or operating a bicycle rental operation, are relatively straightforward, those for large commercial facilities such as lodging in Yosemite or Yellowstone are extremely complicated. David and Kay Scott bring some clarity to this issue in their latest article pertaining to lodging in the National Park System.

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