Almost daily, if we look around a little, we can discover or celebrate many aspects of our lives made possible by visionaries that came before us. One such entity is our glorious park system, which once again is being spotlighted by during National Park Week.

President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “There is nothing so American as our national parks.” President George W. Bush, in establishing the theme of “Kids in Parks” for the 2008 national observance, said, “We underscore our commitment to conserving these magnificent places and recognize the many employees and volunteers who give their time and energy to keep them beautiful for all Americans to enjoy.”

Yellowstone National Park, that magnificent panorama to our southwest, became the world’s first national park on March 1, 1872. In 1916, our national park service was established by Congress to “conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife 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.”

What a stroke of genius!

Spectacular scenery, historic and prehistoric settings, scientific opportunities – and every bit as important is that in the past 136 years, millions of people from the world over, but particularly proud and appreciative Americans, have been able to benefit from and enjoy these natural resources. Few, indeed, are Americans who, at any age, have not been exposed to and enriched by visiting our parks, often for free.

A number of presidents have had a hand in expanding and enhancing our parks. For example, Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most environmentally conscious chief executives we have known, set aside more than 150 million acres of land, forests, rivers, lakes, ocean fronts and the like so that those who came later would gain from sharing.

At this time, our park system includes 388 areas that cover 84 million square acres. Every one of our 50 states except Delaware has a national park of some type. It is quite appropriate that President Bush wants to put emphasis on “Kids in Parks” for the 2008 observances of National Park Week. These treasures are under stress from overuse, fading of funding to maintain and improve them and shrinking lists of employees to supervise such. We cannot allow further erosion.

By getting our youngsters interested in and involved with our park structures and their countless offerings, the groundwork could be laid for an upturn for the future of these settings.

In 1872 and then again in 1916 the groundwork was laid for the most incredible system of national parks the world has ever known. Whatever it takes, we need to ensure that those who follow us also will have the chance to embrace these wonderful resources in our national park treasury.