The Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday that the Utah State Legislature is considering closing five state parks: Edge of the Cedars, Green River, Utah Field House of Natural History, Frontier Heritage, and the Territorial State Capital. If the legislature chooses to close these parks, they will save around $3M. Which raises the question: should historical sites turn a profit and is it responsible to preserve them for history's sake. As an economist (and a grad student), I understand the nature of budget constraints (especially for states who must balance their budgets) but I believe that it is important to preserve history in order for educational and cultural reasons. Although these parks represent Utah history (which is terribly taught in our schools), they are important reminders of who we are as a people and the sacrifices that our Utah pioneers made in order to colonize the state.
Imagine if our Federal Congress decided that Gettysburg or Independence Hall just wasn't brining in the profit margins and should they be closed down as well. We would lose a huge chunk of our national identity. This is the beauty of the state and national park idea: protecting areas of high intrinsic value even if it does not have a huge monetary value.
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