The National Parks: America's Best Idea (2009)

Episode Overview

In an effort to combat the high unemployment rates during the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt establishes the Civilian Conservation Corps, leading to a transformative period for national parks through extensive renovation efforts. Young biologist George Melendez Wright conducts a pivotal study revealing serious issues with wildlife habitats and advocates for significant changes in the National Park Service's policies. Congress passes a bill to establish the Everglades as a national park, marking the first park created specifically to protect an ecosystem instead of just its scenic views. As the U.S. enters World War II, Roosevelt faces mounting pressure to allow mining, grazing, and logging in the parks, and he also endures backlash for expanding Grand Teton National Park in Wyoming by accepting land secretly acquired by John D. Rockefeller Jr.