How can national parks be compared to islands

National recreation areas are lands near large reservoirs that offer visitors a chance to experience water-based outdoor activities -- from swimming and kayaking to fishing and boating.

These recreation areas also often include important natural and cultural features. Wild and scenic rivers preserve rivers and the land surrounding them in their natural state -- providing Americans with great outdoor recreation. Key to wild and scenic rivers is that they are free-flowing streams that haven't been dammed or altered in any way.

While the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of offers different levels of classification depending on the state of the river, in total it has protected more than rivers in 35 states and Puerto Rico. National seashores and national lakeshores preserve shorelines and some surrounding islands. Plus, they are amazing places for water recreation. While national lakeshores can be on any natural freshwater lake, the four existing national lakeshores are all on the Great Lakes.

The 10 national seashores are on America's three coasts: Atlantic, Gulf and Pacific. National trails fall into one of three groups: scenic, historic and recreation. Congress designates national scenic trails think the famous Appalachian National Scenic Trail, which stretches from Georgia to Maine and national historic trails like the Pony Express National Historic Trail, a historic route that spans eight states and symbolizes the spirit of the American West. When it comes to national recreation trails including national water trails , the Secretary of the Interior or Agriculture can designate these in response to an application from the managing agency or organization.

Visit recreation. For more gorgeous photos from public lands Interior protects for current and future generations, follow USInterior on Instagram. Ascending to 14, feet above sea level, Mount Rainier stands as an icon in the Washington landscape. Photo by Richard Thompson www. National Forests White River National Forest is the most visited national forest in the nation encompassing 2. With 11 ski resorts, eight Wilderness areas, 10 mountain peaks over 14, feet and 2, miles of trails, this Colorado forest is a place where you can press play on adventure and inspiration!

Photo by Daniel Kokoszka www. Our national parks form the cornerstone of biodiversity conservation in Australia, containing vital habitat that provides safe havens in which animals and plants can survive and thrive. In addition our protected areas provide life-sustaining services vital for the wellbeing of our environment and society, such as protection of urban water catchments and climate amelioration.

Regional communities in particular benefit from the Intact natural areas also provide a variety of resources and processes vital for human life and the economy. For example protected areas provide a water catchment and filtration service, improving the quality of the water we use for drinking, agriculture and industry. Is it better to preserve habitat for rare, highly selective species, or to choose habitat that supports as many species as possible?

National parks—major tourist attractions as well as wildlife habitats—have their own set of conservation concerns, particularly isolation. Areas around parks can be desirable real estate, and development, hunting, and deforestation immediately outside parks often outpaces the regional rate. As time goes by, they tend to become increasingly isolated from the surrounding landscapes and can come to resemble islands of habitat in a sea of development.

It might not be surprising, then, that ecologists have turned to islands to gain insight into the functioning of national parks. Wilson, was first published in They found that islands recently disconnected from the mainland experience high rates of species extinction, eventually reaching an equilibrium number of species, depending on their size.

Basically, parks are behaving just like islands. Large mammals, which often move longer distances and require more habitat, may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of isolation. In India, where large mammals face intense pressure from a large and growing human population, protected areas are an important factor in reducing extinction rates. The solution, like the problem, may lie in island biogeography.

A nearby source of new individuals could rescue populations in danger of extinction , reversing the effects of isolation. But these words are all about connecting islands of protected habitat together. Their idea is to approach conservation planning not as a black-and-white division between wilderness and civilization, but as a continuum of landscape features, with varying levels of protection, connected by safe movement pathways that act as bridges.

The park, established in , is one of the smallest national parks in Canada at Protected areas help prevent degradation of ecosystems and EGS, and can also increase the value of EGS provided by these sites. For the case study, pressures on the landscape were identified, land cover for the national park and surrounding ecosystem were analysed, and two methods to estimate monetary values for ecosystem service flows from the national park were applied.

For more information about the case study area, methodology and limitations, see Appendix G. The Thousand Islands National Park was created primarily as a place for recreation, including picnicking, camping and boating.

Parks Canada is working to integrate two objectives: providing recreational opportunities for Canadians while preserving and protecting the fragile resources of the park. The Thousand Islands National Park is influenced by human activity that occurs within the park and by development pressures from population growth, agriculture and other activities that have impacts on the surrounding landscape Maps 4.

Protected areas, which help buffer communities from environmental risks, 12 covered km 2 1. In , the Thousand Islands Ecosystem buffer area, most of which drains towards the St. Lawrence River, supported over 9, farms.

To help estimate the value of EGS provided by the Thousand Islands National Park, land cover assets were analyzed through the use of satellite imagery Map 4.