Most folks are aware that the NPS looked at the DRGW ng., and many probably wish that the NPS had taken it over. My friend Gordon Chappell is regional historian for the NPS, and he tells me within the NPS the big debate is between the preservationists/historians and the naturalists. The naturalists want everything returned to its natural state before man arrived. For example, in Yosemite there are some very historic structures that the naturalists would like to see torn down. I mean, like who needs the Awahnee hotel, or the stone cabins built long ago in Tuolumne Meadows. Probably the historic railroad-built hotels at Grand Canyon and Glacier fall into that category as well. So maybe we're lucky the NPS didn't want the railroad. The original fabric debate would pale compared to the arguments for and against returning Toltec Gorge to nature.
JBW
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2007 12:34PM by John West.