OBLIGATIONS INHERENT TO THE CREATION OF LEISURE SPACES: WHAT CAN THE HISTORY OF SHENANDOAH NATIONAL PARK TEACH US?

Abstract: When a local park is designed, built, and managed there is an obligation to the various social groups who live nearby (Field, 2000). It would stand to reason that the same could be said of a larger, more rural park site, such as a national park or designated wilderness area. What then, are the ethical obligations held by those in power who create large natural resource-based recreation spaces? The establishment of Shenandoah National Park in the 1920’s and 1930’s created a resource that today is one of the most heavily used recreation sites in America (Sheaffer, 1999). Its development was unique, however, in that instead of setting aside unused wilderness lands, it reclaimed inhabited land (Reeder, 1978). Thi