10/29/2016

Dear President,

Over the last century the creation of national parks has become ubiquitous throughout the country. These unsung natural land preservations have become landmarks of American beauty. When Woodrow Wilson created the first national park on August 25, 1916 he most likely never thought his plan would reach a such large scale. But with 83 million acres of national parks there are environmental issue that need to be dealt with. So despite other environmental factors, the cleaning of the national parks will lead toward long term success within the parks and preserving America’s beauties.

When I was informed by my parents that we were taking a family vacation a couple of summers ago I was very excited; Immediately asking, where to? When my mom told me that we were going to be visiting these majestic national parks I was very excited. I looked up online the parks we were planning on visiting and I was speechless. But let me tell you, the attraction to nature while visiting these parks was at its peak. At Bryce Canyon being able to look off at all the hoodoos, it was amazing. At Zion park, doing a hike in a foot of water while in a canyon, incredible. And without a doubt the most memorable trip was the views at the Grand Canyon. But when I learned these parks were being polluted, I knew that a step was needed to be taken to preserve these graceful lands.

Every national park is facing crucial environmental factors that could be controlled. These issues don’t only affect the landscape of the parks but the habitats and lives of the wildlife within. Air pollution is the biggest problem facing these parks and it needs to be at least reduced a significant amount. Even with the Clean Air Act active the parks are still being impacted. With this issue there is also the need for funding. With the maximum budget reached every year for the cleaning of the parks the budget needs to rise.

Finding the most efficient way to solving this problem is not easy at all. As said by the EPA (environmental protective agency), America needs to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of toxic, hazardous, and environmentally substances that cause risks in the national parks. Also stating that by choosing the safest and “greenest janitorial products will lead to long term success within the parks. I believe that the need for funding is absolutely crucial to maintain the beauty of the parks. By increasing the budget just a few billion dollars this can let the national parks stay landmarks for future generations.

Despite other environmental factors the cleaning of the national parks will lead toward long term success. In order to keep the country clean and to be able to have the beauteous land it must be cleaned and funded. Just by taking the time to read this letter you have hopefully deeply considered these necessary actions.

Thank you,

Tony Cotugno