海角大神

鈥淲hat would we be like without the national parks?鈥� Ken Burns calls that the 鈥淚t鈥檚 a Wonderful Life鈥� question, the one raised in the classic Christmas movie. What if Americans hadn鈥檛 stepped up to save their special places?

鈥淚f there were no national parks, the Grand Canyon would be lined with mansions inaccessible to us mere mortals,鈥� Mr. Burns says. 鈥淚f there were no national parks, Zion and Yosemite 鈥� two of the most beautiful places on earth 鈥� would be gated communities. If there were no national parks, Yellowstone would be an amusement park. If there were no national parks, the Everglades would be drained and filled with subdivisions and tract housing.鈥�

As Americans moved westward, many saw resources to be exploited, says the documentary filmmaker, whose achievements include 鈥淭he Civil War,鈥� 鈥淏aseball,鈥� and 鈥淛azz.鈥� 鈥淲e look at a river and think 鈥榙am.鈥� We look at a beautiful stand of trees and think 鈥榖oard feet.鈥� We look at a canyon and think what minerals can be extracted from it.鈥�

But another strain also wound through the American mind, he says, one that saw in nature 鈥渃athedrals of God鈥檚 handiwork鈥� and surmised that 鈥渨e could do no better than to return to nature for some sense of touching something larger than ourselves.鈥�

Those impulses finally resulted in the formation of the National Park Service in 1916. But that event, Burns points out in an interview with the Monitor at the WGBH studios in Boston, isn鈥檛 covered until midway into the third of the six, two-hour episodes of his latest project, 鈥淭he National Parks: America鈥檚 Best Idea,鈥� which began airing on PBS Sept. 27.

While some might argue that Jefferson鈥檚 鈥渁ll men are created equal鈥� is America鈥檚 best idea, the nation鈥檚 founding principles lie beneath the idea of creating parks. 鈥淥nly a democracy could have thought that land could have been set aside, not for the rich and nobility, but for everybody for all time,鈥� Burns says.

The effort began by saving the obvious: the greatest waterfall (Yosemite), the greatest canyon (the Grand Canyon), the greatest geysers (Yellowstone).

But the idea has expanded to include sites of historical and cultural importance, from hallowed Civil War battlefields to places of national shame (Indian massacres) or tragedy (the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum, honoring the victims of the 1995 terrorist bombing).

While 鈥淣ational Parks鈥� dazzles with spectacular cinematography shot over six years, in typical Burns fashion it鈥檚 also the intimate story of individuals. You meet the 鈥渇amous white guys,鈥� such as Teddy Roosevelt and John Muir, he says. But it鈥檚 also a 鈥渂ottom up鈥� story 鈥渢hat鈥檚 black and brown and red and yellow and female and unknown.鈥� That diversity wasn鈥檛 the result of being politically correct, he says. Rather, it naturally occurred 鈥渂y lifting up the rock at any given park and looking at its story.鈥�

The concern that Americans may be 鈥渓oving their parks to death鈥� by crowding into them has been tempered by flat attendance figures (275 million visitors in 2008) in recent years, though Yellowstone reported record crowds this summer.

Burns argues that encouraging more Americans to visit their national parks is the best way to protect them. As a result of the PBS series, 鈥淚 hope that every superintendent of every national park ... [will] be angry with us because they have so many people, and they don鈥檛 know what to do with them,鈥� he says.

Americans are 鈥渃o-owners of some of the most spectacular scenery on earth,鈥� Burns says. 鈥淎nd all you鈥檝e got to do is go out and visit your property now and then, and make sure it鈥檚 being taken care of. And put it in your will for the next generation.鈥�

Editor鈥檚 note: If you鈥檇 like to read more about the state of the national parks, click here to read "America's national parks face challenges."

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