Texas State Parks: A century of connecting nature, history, and society

Keywords: Parks, Social-Ecological Systems, Landscape
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Friday
Session Start / End Time: 2/25/2022 11:20 AM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 2/25/2022 12:40 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 32

Abstract

As people started traveling more in the 1920s and visiting one of the twenty national parks, the demand on these treasures became so great that Stephen Mather (NPS Director) formulated a solution where a nationwide system of state parks would mitigate the pressures on national parks. The first National Conference on State Parks he organized in 1921 was attended by 200 delegates from 25 states. One of the conference delegates was Texas Governor Pat Neff, who established the Texas State Parks system two years later. Over the past 100 years, the cultural and biophysical landscapes of Texas State Parks have been dynamic. Using my archival research, historical data analyses, more than a hundred interviews, and visits to all 89 state parks, I describe the interwoven environmental and cultural histories of Texas State Parks as they approach their centennial. Dominant themes include land use legacies, New Deal impacts, Race & Place, climate change, resilience, relational values, and tourism trends.