Last summer my family and I spent a week in Jackson Hole. During our time in Yellowstone, we came across several areas of burned out forest. In some areas, as far as you could see there were thousands of fallen trees littering the hillsides.
Honestly, it was ugly. In the midst of all the grand beauty of the finest of our national parks the fallen trees seemed out of place. This was most especially true along a certain well traveled pathway that led to one of Yellowstone's famous waterfalls. To reach our goal, we walked for a couple of miles on a path lined by fallen tree trunks. It was hot and there were no trees to shade our journey. Weeds and grass had grown up between the fallen trees and occasionally we would spy a new sapling coming up to greet the sky.
At one time, I'm sure that the pathway was cool and a joy to walk, but not anymore.
Later we asked some friends who were working for the part service why the fallen trees weren't cleared and new one's planted along the path. The fires that had wreaked havoc on the beautiful landscape had occurred over ten years ago. Surely there had been time to clean things up a bit.
My friends had asked the same questions and the park rangers had explained that a new park policy forbid the cleaning up of the mess, because it wasn't "natural" to do so.
Well, thumbs down on natural.
Now the park rangers may have a very good reason for making this choice, but my hunch is that this is conservation gone overboard. Before there was sin in the world there were gardeners. Adam and Eve were invited to create as God had created. To take the raw materials of nature and use them to do something glorious. To create beauty from beauty. Mankind has a contribution to make in this world and our efforts are not always destructive or hurtful to the natural order.
The application of this truth is broad. In a sinful fallen world, not everything that occurs "naturally" is beautiful. From parks and churches to giving leadership in a public school classroom the need for Kingdom minded creators is acute. There are some ugly things in this world that will remain an ugly mess until one of God's children decides to do something about it. Natural isn't always best. Natural often calls out for someone to clear away a mess and start something new - to bring beauty in the aftermath of disaster.
1 comment:
It has nothing to do with Conservation, unlike w/the USFS, Conservation is not a concept known within the NPS. However, preservation is the main concept practiced within all NPS properties. As the founder once stated:
"The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness. "
"The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual."
"God has cared for these trees, saved them from drought, disease, avalanches, and a thousand tempests and floods. But he cannot save them from fools."
John Muir
He believed that Nature should never be changed or destroyed. We should preserve it and keep it just as it is. We have no right to decide that river should be plugged to provide electricity to others.
We actually were just speaking about the fires today---I just really love learning about the history of Parks and Outdoor recreation. The debate about how and who should be able to use the public land. It is extremely interesting.
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