The comments deal a serious blow to one of opponents' key claims against a proposal to use 70,000 acres plus a $40 million maintenance endowment to form the nation's 59th national park.
But despite our country's valiant efforts to protect these iconic lands, the national parks are now facing the most powerful threat in their history -- global warming.
Snuggled under all my soft and comfy organic bedding, I am feeling all warm and wonderful, while the air in the room is sweet, cool, and so refreshing. It's an elixir that is priceless.
Over time, I am confident that most of the people who stand in the way of moral progress will be forgotten, just like most of the individuals who stood in the way of John Muir and Steven Mather.
I encourage everyone, no matter what part of these United States you live in (or even if you live elsewhere), to take a "trip out West" at some point in your life. Get in a car, and go explore everything west of Denver.
"The national parks are the first time in human history that land has been set aside -- not for kings or noblemen or the very rich -- but for everybody, and for all time," Burns said.
Instilling in our children a strong personal connection to our National Parks can be a catalyst for life-long conservation and stewardship.
Welcome to your American inheritance: 84 million acres comprising 58 national parks, with 333 historic monuments, seashores, and battlefields.
Burns' 12-hour, 6-part series, aptly named, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, starts Sunday night on PBS and runs all next week. You should try to watch it in hi-def, but do watch it.
I suspect those who only watch the first few episodes will be teetering on the edge of boredom. Those who stay around longer, or just cherry-pick an episode to watch among the later ones will end up much more excited and satisfied.
"America's best idea" still isn't complete. If we don't grow the system, we risk loving to death the parks that we have.
At the concert in Central Park Wednesday night, Ken Burns was inspiring -- and used words like "apotheosis" and "inexorable," just to see if we were paying attention -- and was his usual energetic, charming self.
