In an era when most Americans look upon government at all levels with a healthy degree of skepticism (some would say cynicism), the National Park Service is one agency of the federal government that continues to enjoy strong citizen support. Americans of all political persuasions continue to believe deeply in its mission and its people. And rightly so.

The idea to set aside our natural wonders for the perpetual enjoyment of all Americans began in 1872 with the creation of Yellowstone National Park. (Grand Canyon National Park was established in 1919 and enlarged in 1975.) For the first time, public lands were preserved for public enjoyment, to be administered by the federal government on the citizenry’s behalf.

The law that created Yellowstone National Park put these lands "under the exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior" and they were "reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale…and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring-ground." At the time, this was a novel idea. Yellowstone National Park was the first of its kind anywhere in the world. Today, our National Park System continues to serve as an international model for how a people can protect, preserve, and enjoy their natural, cultural, and historic resources in perpetuity.
The National Park System contains 384 units encompassing approximately 83 million acres. The largest is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska at 13.2 million acres. The smallest is the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania at 0.02 of an acre. Grand Canyon National Park is comprised of 1.18 million acres and accounts for 1.4 percent of the entire system.

It was not until 1916, however, that the National Park Service was created by Congress to manage the growing list of national parks, monuments, and historic sites. The National Park Service Organic Act establishes the fundamental purpose of the agency, which is: "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."

From the very beginning, then, the National Park Service was charged with a dual and often competing mandate. The requirement is to preserve resources for future generations while at the same time to provide for the public enjoyment of these very same resources by the current generation. Tension between these competing purposes was immediate and continues today as the National Park Service struggles to meet its dual statutory mission. This tension underlies many management issues surrounding use and protection of the Colorado River corridor within Grand Canyon National Park.

Managing the very special, unique, and treasured resources found within the National Park System is, of course, a lot easier said than done. Much of the challenge revolves around the National Park Service’s dual, competing mandates of preserve and protect while providing for public enjoyment. The struggle to find the appropriate balance is never ending.
Last year, 287 million people visited the National Park System.
Grand Canyon National Park hosted 4.5 million visitors.

Reconciling the National Park Service’s split personality at Grand Canyon National Park and within its Colorado River corridor is the express purpose underlying the pending revision of the agency’s Colorado River Management Plan. This document is the rule book that governs almost every facet of public access to and activity on the river.

As required by law, the National Park Service produces this document and the management structure it proscribes via a broad public citizen involvement process. Various management objectives are defined and the best ways to achieve these goals must be rationally considered.

As a fundamental matter of statutory responsibility, the National Park Service must consider all public input before rendering a final decision. The final management plan must comport with a variety of legal requirements, including both the National Park Service’s competing purposes: to protect the resources under its stewardship while providing for public enjoyment of those same resources for current and future generations.