Finding Balance:Parks & People

Millions of Americans visit our national parks annually. Most are unaware that with each visit they affect the balance between the preservation and the destruction of the very land, water, and history they are so anxious to explore.

Visitors are not the only ones tipping the scale though. Decreasing financial support, pollution, clear-cutting, urban sprawl, and the loss of experienced resource managers all weigh-in heavily against the health of one of our nation's greatest resources: its national parks.

Aurora photographers Melissa Farlow and Randy Olson visually define the uneasy balance between parks and people. By exposing sheer beauty and ugly realities, Melissa and Randy's imagery allow us to think for ourselves - as visitors, consumers, and taxpayers - about the effect of our impact on national parks.

Explore visually by choosing thumbnail images (above) or linearly from start to finish by Topic (left).

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