Legacy of parks
Encyclopedia
This 1970s New Federalism
style program promoted by the Nixon administration turned federal land over to the states for historical, cultural and recreational purposes.
In 1972, the U.S. Congress appropriated $200 million to the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to support the program with the goal of conserving wild areas and saving the disappearing open spaces around the country’s urban areas. Local governments were able to obtain 50-50 matching funds for new parks, playgrounds, and open spaces with priority given to the development and improvement of land already in public ownership. Special attention was given to projects that featured increasing the recreational use of the land.
The program’s guiding principle was rooted on the idea that America’s highly diversified population deserved a variety of natural areas to enjoy; from parks with modern conveniences to areas featuring the solitude of wilderness. Families, casual tourists and avid outdoorsmen were viewed as having equal stakes in the parks.
To support the initiative, President Nixon asked for increases in funding for open space programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and established the Federal Property Review Board which evaluated federally owned land to determine if the parcels could be converted into parks.
By the late 1970’s, over 700,000 acres (2,800 km²) of land had been purchased under the Legacy of Parks program. Playgrounds, forests, environmental education areas, bike trials, and jogging paths were all strong candidates for funding. Many of the urban sites were less than 20 acres (80,937.2 m²). Some parks were larger such as Michigan’s 3,000 acre (12 km²) Fort Custer Recreation Area
or New York and New Jersey’s 26,000 acre (110 km²) Gateway National Recreation Area
.
New Federalism
New Federalism is a political philosophy of devolution, or the transfer of certain powers from the United States federal government back to the states...
style program promoted by the Nixon administration turned federal land over to the states for historical, cultural and recreational purposes.
In 1972, the U.S. Congress appropriated $200 million to the Federal Land and Water Conservation Fund to support the program with the goal of conserving wild areas and saving the disappearing open spaces around the country’s urban areas. Local governments were able to obtain 50-50 matching funds for new parks, playgrounds, and open spaces with priority given to the development and improvement of land already in public ownership. Special attention was given to projects that featured increasing the recreational use of the land.
The program’s guiding principle was rooted on the idea that America’s highly diversified population deserved a variety of natural areas to enjoy; from parks with modern conveniences to areas featuring the solitude of wilderness. Families, casual tourists and avid outdoorsmen were viewed as having equal stakes in the parks.
To support the initiative, President Nixon asked for increases in funding for open space programs of the Department of Housing and Urban Development and established the Federal Property Review Board which evaluated federally owned land to determine if the parcels could be converted into parks.
By the late 1970’s, over 700,000 acres (2,800 km²) of land had been purchased under the Legacy of Parks program. Playgrounds, forests, environmental education areas, bike trials, and jogging paths were all strong candidates for funding. Many of the urban sites were less than 20 acres (80,937.2 m²). Some parks were larger such as Michigan’s 3,000 acre (12 km²) Fort Custer Recreation Area
Fort Custer Recreation Area
Fort Custer Recreation Area is a state park located between Battle Creek and Kalamazoo, Michigan. The area features lakes, the Kalamazoo River, over 25 miles of multi-use trails, second growth oak barrens and dry-mesic southern forests.-History:...
or New York and New Jersey’s 26,000 acre (110 km²) Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area
Gateway National Recreation Area is a National Recreation Area in the Port of New York and New Jersey. Scattered over Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island, New York and Monmouth County, New Jersey, it provides recreational opportunities that are rare for a dense urban environment, including ocean...
.