The eight parks Mr. Dorn and his staff selected to be dropped are American Samoa, Biscayne, Carlsbad Caverns, the Cuyahoga Valley, Dry Tortugas, Hot Springs, Virgin Islands, and Wind Cave. That's right. He and Backpacker Mag are saying that our local resource isn't worthy of being called a National Park, that its funding should cease, and that those that work in the CVNP should lose their jobs.
I don't know what Mr. Dorn was trying to do by writing this article. Maybe it was just to for discussion or to try his hand at sarcasm. If that's the case, so be it. However, it doesn't read that way to me or many others that live near and enjoy the Cuyahoga Valley National Park (nearly all the comments on the website defend CVNP's status). The article is poorly researched and in poor taste. It is insulting and hurtful. If the powers that be at Backpacker had any brains they wouldn't have allowed it to be published in the first place. You see, to me (and I bet many others) it is as if Mr. Dorn was saying that a good friend wasn't worth feeding anymore because they didn't meet his standards of a viable person. If he had done his research and had any sensitivity, he would never have written such an article. I dearly hope that Backpacker sees the light and either pulls the article or publishes an apology. It not only insults those that work in these eight parks, it insults all of us that love them.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is my place. It is my refuge. Some of the most vivid memories of my childhood take place under the leaves or in the fields of the CVNP. I can't remember my grandmother's voice or much that she said to me because she died nearly 20 years ago, but I clearly remember those summer evenings I spent with her in the CVNP. I remember resting under a pine tree at Virginia Kendell with my father when I was very young and looking up through the glowing leaves in the afternoon and feeling completely safe and at peace. I remember a day in high school that I was so overwhelmed and stressed that I drove out to the Ledges after school just to sit at the Overlook and collect my thoughts. It was the CVNP's section of the Towpath Trail that I rode everyday after class to clear my head, rain or shine.
I will never forget that autumn afternoon I took my new car out for a drive as the leaves of the beech trees fluttered down on Akron-Peninsula Rd near Bolanz, showering the street in gold. It is one of the most beautiful things I've ever seen.
It was at a CVNP picnic spot that the Mr. and I decided to get married.
It was at the Meadow at Virginia Kendell that we decided to adopt a nameless little black dog that hadn't eaten in days, was afraid of men and kids, and had been beaten and abused.
The Cuyahoga Valley National Park is synonymous with peace for me. It is where I go to celebrate. It is where I go for solace. It is where I go to talk to God. It has always been there and it will always remain my place no matter where life takes me.
I have a sneaky feeling that many of you call the Cuyahoga Valley National Park your place too. Let's face it. Northeast Ohio isn't an easy place to live and much of the time it doesn't seem to have much going for it. The two cities that sit on either end of the CVNP (Cleveland and Akron) have seen decades of struggle. There's joblessness, high foreclosure rates, crime, and urban decay. To top it off, its always cloudy and the sports teams provide nothing but frustration! But, we do have one thing going for us, a really special thing, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Sure, it doesn't have a canyon or geysers or hundreds of miles of untouched back country. But, Mr. Dorn, its accessibility and its location are why the CVNP is so very important. This park, unlike those others that you hold up on a pedestal because of their purity and remoteness, is a shining example of how much this country cares about its natural and cultural heritage. The CVNP was reclaimed to be a green space for this community. It is deeply cherished by those who come here. They love it and support it because they don't need to save hundreds of dollars for a plane ticket, a room at a lodge, and an entrance fee to visit. They can bring their families here. They can come after work in the afternoon and enjoy its peaceful trails and its awe inspiring waterfalls. They can make CVNP apart of their life. Its a park for the common man. It not only gets support from its community, it supports its community. It has an incredibly strong, volunteer based support organization that works closely with the NPS to improve the CVNP. Not all those pristine wilderness have that advantage.
This National Park is, in fact, Northeast Ohio's strongest resource!
Oh, and Mr. Dorn, the next time you write an article, try doing a little research first because you can backpack in the CVNP! Ever heard of the Buckeye Trail? It is the perfect place to learn how to backpack because it isn't in the middle of nowhere., even though it seems like it What better place to introduce new people to the sport?
As an avid backpacker (I actually have more experience doing that than riding a bike) and someone who has spent most of their life enjoying the Cuyahoga Valley National Park I was deeply hurt by Backpacker Magazine's heartless article. I've never visited the other parks listed, but I'm sure they are just as special and important to their communities as well.
I'm not going to ask you to do anything in response to the article. My main purpose of this post was to respond to it and share my love for my National Park. However, if you do want to take a stand please spread the word about Backpacker's lack of professionalism. Heck, if you have a subscription, cancel it. Tell your friends. Hike the Buckeye Trail and prove Mr. Dorn wrong. Most importantly do what you can for the CVNP. It may not be writing a check to The Conservancy. Maybe its picking up some litter or thanking a ranger for their service.
Our country is deeply blessed because of its National Parks. Each one of them serves a purpose. Some are pristine and untouched places where we can go to experience the wilderness. Others, like the CVNP, provide a much needed refuge in our backyard.
Enjoy them. Treasure them. They are our places.
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| One of the CVNP's many waterfalls. deviantart.com |
Well spoken. I am still waiting for that apology (or resignation) from Mr. Dorn.
ReplyDeleteThe Backpacker article was really from a backpacking point of view. They think of a "National Park" as a place for an overnight wilderness experience.
ReplyDeleteHowever, even if the designation were stripped, it wouldn't mean that it would lose its funding or that people would be canned left and right. If there were such a move, it would probably be to restore it back to a National Recreation Area designation. It seems somewhat similar to Gateway NRA in New York City or Golden Gate NRA in and around San Francisco.
From everything I've heard about the place, it's a fine place to visit. However, I don't see how it ever became a "National Park". It seems quite similar to the series of regional parks in my area. Those too are very special to me, and it's not because Congress slapped a new name on an old park.