Overcoming Threats to National Parks
Threats to our national parks are very real and when Congress establishes these parks, their protection is not guaranteed. Threats to national parks occur endlessly as their protection often conflicts with competing interests. Overcoming these threats to national parks does not always mean an end to progress; rather, it means redefining progress that includes national parks as a central component.
Everglades Betrayal – The Issue that Defeated Al Gore is a story of redefining progress so that threats to two national parks would be minimized. Everglades Betrayal takes place in south Florida and involves three federal areas: Everglades National Park, Biscayne National Park, and the Homestead Air Force Base. When Hurricane Andrew destroyed the base, a reckless proposal to redevelop it into an airport resulted in serious threats to the two national parks. It took years and much effort to reverse the situation, and many people worked tirelessly to redefine restoring economic prosperity to the region in a way that intertwined with protecting the national parks.
Everglades Betrayal is for anyone interested in the steamy politics of south Florida that lead up to the 2000 presidential election; protecting our national parks; land use planning; and tools of all these trades. It chronicles the eight-year saga and concludes with an astonishing ending that no one could have predicted. Everglades Betrayal leads you into the 2000 presidential election and the final decision rendered days before George W. Bush took office.
Threats to national parks will continue. Hopefully, the lessons found in Everglades Betrayal will eliminate the threats we can prevent. National parks contain the nation’s story. As a result, threats to national parks threaten our national identity and must stopped.
The Everglades Betrayal – The Issue that Defeated Al Gore is now available to you online.
