NPS Photo.
The environment is where people live.
We rely on it to support and sustain life. Today, humans have affected almost every facet of the natural world. Crises like climate change and biodiversity loss remind us that people and the environment are interdependent.
People change their environment--and it changes us. Explore more stories of engaging with the environment.
Stories of People & the Environment
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Engaging with the EnvironmentPlacesFeaturing the parks and places that tell the stories of our engagement with the environment.
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Engaging with the EnvironmentPeopleLearn about the people who engage with the environment.
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Engaging with the EnvironmentEducation ResourcesEducation resources to learn about how people have engaged with the environment throughout our history.
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Engaging with the EnvironmentWomen and the EnvironmentDiscover stories of women engaging with the environment.
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Engaging with the EnvironmentTheme StudyTheme studies that explore engaging with the environment.
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Engaging with the EnvironmentAdditional ResourcesAdditional resources for exploring our engagement with the environment.
Complicating Conservation
The conservation movement of the early 1900s helped to create the National Park system and establish crucial protections for the nation's animals, plants, and landscapes. But some conservationists also embraced exclusionary ideas and policies that caused incalculable harm to people. Madison Grant and William Kent believed that the United States should be, as Kent put it, "a white man's country." They supported immigration restrictions and racial segregation. Grant and other conservationists, including President Theodore Roosevelt, also believed in eugenics. They wanted to prevent people they considered inferior--including people of color and people with disabilities--from having children.
These stories are part of NPS history. Understanding them is necessary to build a more inclusive future.
Explore More Stories of Engaging with the Environment
Last updated: December 6, 2023