Overview

This book navigates the complicated tensions involved in effectively communication the National Park Service’s mission to both conserve and preserve nature while also offering recreational experiences to the public. Maureen Wieland utilizes first-hand qualitative research conducted in Glacier National Park in Montana, one of America’s most highly visited parks, to weave together historical, interview, and observational data from both visitors and employees of the park to build a collaborative understanding of the park’s environmental status and mission. Through discussion of climate change, policy change, and environmental education at Glacier National Park, Wieland explores the complicated nature of the National Park Service as an organization and how national parks will evolve in the future. Scholars of communication, environmental studies, and public relations will find this book of particular interest.

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9781666923636

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Reviews

"This volume straddles autobiography and environmental studies in its examination of the role and remit of Glacier National Park. It considers the challenges faced by the National Park Service, its staff, and visitors to meet the goals of conservation and preservation while providing opportunities for access, discovery, and recreation. Admitting these complicated tensions of the Anthropocene, the chapters consider the perspectives of visitors and employees through the lens of Coordinated Management of Meaning theory to frame attitudes, beliefs, and perceptions about the environment, land, access, and interpretation. Four research questions guide this qualitative study of how visitors and staff interpret and co-construct the mission and purpose of the park while addressing environmental concerns. The book will be relevant to researchers from area studies, environmental studies, ecology, and public history interested in topics such as climate change, policy change, and environmental education. Revelatory in its meticulous process and fascinating research results, this book is an interesting read that gives readers an understanding of how valuable such research can be to the proper management, care, and future of national parks. Recommended. Advanced undergraduates through faculty. -- ""Choice Reviews"""

Author Information

Maureen Wieland is Director of Communication at Luther Crest Bible Camp in Minnesota and holds a PhD in public relations.

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