The Gift on the Horizon

More than just a collection of islands, the Apostles are the embodiment of an idea, and part of America's gift to the world.

This time of year, the islands sleep just on the edge of the horizon. Out there, half in and half out of the mists of memory and miles. With shards of ice still jeweling the waters for a few more weeks yet anyway, they are reachable only by the eyes and the heart. But, walk the Lakeshore Trail or a stretch of the Little Sand Bay Beach, or walk the Bayfield dock, and they are there, reminders of something far beyond themselves, a reminder that every national park unit is a kind of gift, America’s gift to the world.

Since March 1, 1872, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed into law not only America’s but the world’s first national park, the national park idea has spread to over 100 nations – South Africa where lions prowl and elephants gather in Kruger National Park, the crystal waterfalls lacing the cliffs of Croatia’s Plitvice Lakes National Park, the sandstone pillars of China’s Zhangjiajie National Park, the Komodo dragons of Komodo National Park in Indonesia.

Here in the U.S. we now have 433 units managed by the National Park Service including 63 designated national parks (and three national lakeshores). It is a system that protects everything from the heights of Denali in Alaska to the depths of the Grand Canyon, and the Apostle Islands. That system drew 331 million visitors last year, Americans and people from all over the world. In fact, one-third of all foreign visitors to the U.S. (14 million people) visit at least one national park while they are here, one reason that national park brochures and interpretive signs are often found in an array of other languages). People come here for the parks.

Our national parks are a gift to the world. But now that gift is in trouble.

On February 14^th, more than 1,000 national park employees were terminated nationwide (including four here in the Apostle Islands). This after a hiring freeze stopped the onboarding of some 7,000 seasonal park staff nationwide (several dozen in the Apostles) and was then slightly thawed but with parameters and without budget clarity. Another round of cuts aimed at reducing the NPS workforce by up to 65 percent is expected in mid-April through what is known as a “RIF” (Reduction in Force).

These are the proud rangers you see caring for our parks, the smiling faces you see at entry stations and ranger talks, wildflower hikes, and when picking up your camping permit. It is the ranger who asks your kids to raise their right hand and be sworn in as Junior Rangers. But it is also often the NPS personnel involved in search and rescue when you get lost, in maintaining clean and safe campgrounds and visitor centers, ensuring clean drinking water. It is the skilled carpenters that shore up historic lighthouses, and boat operators ferrying staff and crews between remote island outposts, and more. It is difficult to imagine how the parks would function without them.

While these cuts are purported to be aimed at reducing waste and inefficiency, the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore, with its $3.4 million annual budget, is an economic engine for our local businesses accounting for over $44 million in visitor spending. That is a 1,305% return on the dollar, hardly wasteful or inefficient. Nationwide, our national parks account for $26.4 billion in local spending and support 415,400 jobs with an over 700% return on the dollar.

These terminations cut deeply not just into the local economy but into the heart of our national park units including the Apostle Islands. Like many parks across the country, the Apostle Islands are facing the prospect of reduced hours or closures at national park visitor centers, park closures, reduced search and rescue capabilities, campgrounds sullied by garbage and human waste, wracked by vandalism. There may be no ranger talks or Junior Ranger programs, less wildlife protection, fewer services overall, putting the islands and the “best idea America ever had” in real danger.

Pick any horizon. What you will see is more than just the Apostle Islands. You are looking out at what has for over a century been America’s gift to the world: our national park system. Now, that gift needs your support. Here are a few ways you can help:

Speak up: Write or call your elected officials urging them to restore the funding and staffing levels necessary to protect our national lakeshore and all the parks. To find your representative and for tips on how to do this go to www.Congress.gov.

Join: Many national park units have a park partner organization that will keep you informed and involved in supporting your favorite park. Here in the Apostles that is the Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore at www.friendsoftheapostleislands.org

Leave No Trace: When visiting the islands (or any national park) this summer, travel lightly on the land by practicing the Leave No Trace principles found at https://www.nps.gov/apis/planyourvisit/leavenotrace.htm

Stand up for our parks and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore. Be a gift to what for so long has been our gift to the world, and each other.

— Jeff Rennicke (all photography by the author unless otherwise noted)

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