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In celebration of the U.S. National Park Service's centennial year, Western Illinois University Libraries will host the speaker series, "Celebrating the National Parks and Park Service," presented by WIU faculty members. The presentations in the series are open free to the public.
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American National Parks History, Legacy Talk Oct. 4 at Malpass Library

September 20, 2016

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MACOMB, IL — In celebration of the U.S. National Park Service's centennial year, Western Illinois University Libraries will host the speaker series, "Celebrating the National Parks and Park Service," presented by WIU faculty members. The presentations in the series are open free to the public.

WIU History Professor Greg Hall will deliver the first presentation in the series; "American National Parks: History and Legacy" is set to start at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 4 in the Leslie F. Malpass Library Garden Lounge.

The U.S. National Park Service celebrated its 100th birthday August 25, but Yellowstone National Park, the first National Park in the world, was established March 1, 1872. According to Linda Zellmer, government and data services librarian, staff who work at the National Park Service now manage 413 different units throughout the U.S., including 59 national parks, 84 national monuments, as well as national battlefields, military parks, historic sites and other sites.

"Dr. Hall's talk will cover the origin and early history of national parks in the United States, and in it, he will focus on the role of several people in the history and establishment of the national parks and National Park Service, including John Muir, Gifford Pinchot, President Theodore Roosevelt and early National Park Service officials significant to the establishment of national parks and to the early National Park Service," Zellmer noted.

Hall's presentation will focus on Yosemite, Yellowstone and the Grand Canyon national parks, among others.

"Issues related to the history of the National Parks, which will be discussed, include the removal of Native Americans from the parks, conflicts between conservationists and preservationists and balancing public access with ecosystem health," Zellmer added.

Zellmer said future presentation (dates and times TBA) will cover the role of the national parks in environmental preservation, geology in the parks and the role of the national parks in cultural resource preservation.

For more information, contact Zellmer at (309) 298-2723 or via email at LR-Zellmer@wiu.edu.

Posted By: University Communications (U-Communications@wiu.edu)
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