National parks delayed

[tom]

The start of national parks in the 19th Century is really rather strange, given the attitudes of the time. What if this development were delayed until the 20th Century, say the 1920s? The environment may be greatly degraded by those few extra decades, and places like Yellowstone may be ruined forever (geysers outside protected areas have been ruined by surprisingly slight interference, for example). How close was the effort to found the first parks?

[DominusNovus]

Interesting tidbit I learned awhile back: The original champions of national parks were actually the railroad companies. They felt that they opened up all these wonders for people to see, so that they should protect them for future generations to see. Maybe if you change this attitude, it never gets started.

[HelloLegend]

Ironically, the status of National Park draws lots of visitors and more visitors means more pollution... example Grand Canyon AZ.