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A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States
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Aspects of Recreational Planning
Present Public Outdoor Recreational Facilities
Administration
A Park and Recreational Land Plan
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A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem of the United States
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Chapter IV: Administration (continued)
PERSONNEL
It has been made apparent repeatedly in this and other chapters that the most important single factor in the park and recreation undertaking is the human factor; that laws may be as near perfection as can be hoped for, but that their effectiveness is directly proportioned to the quality of the personnel by which they are implemented. This statement applies to those persons, usually unpaid, who serve on policy-making boards or commissions, to conservation department heads, directors of park systems and their technical and administrative staffs, and to field employees, down to the common labor utilized to maintain park roads or to keep picnic grounds clean.
An attempt has previously been made in this chapter to indicate the qualifications desirable in the executive head of a conservation department. When this person is the servant of a commission or board, his success or failure is largely conditioned on the character of that group and its ability to determine policies which are based upon or directed towards the public welfare, rather than the desires of special groups. In some cases the law itself requires, even in a board composed wholly of persons having no other official positions, that certain special groups or interests, such as farming or logging, be represented on such boards. The wisdom of such requirements is at least open to question, though it is manifestly important and necessary that policy be based upon accurate knowledge of the special problems involved in such major types of land use as agriculture and timber production and harvesting. Certainly, any board which determines land use policies should be predominantly composed of persons capable of looking at land use problems from the broadest possible viewpoint and, like the conservation commissioner previously described, disposed to consult the expert and specialist before arriving at major policy decisions. Service on a conservation commission, a State park commission, a city park board and related bodies offers the intelligent and public-spirited citizen (and one quality is as important as the other) an opportunity to perform a constructive and lasting service, important enough to be worth the expenditure of time and energy the job requires which is much more than occasional attendance at a meeting.
Although they are gradually developing, it is unfortunate that there are still so few educational opportunities that offer definite assistance to the park administrator. The Institute on Landscape Management, sponsored by the National Conference on State Parks and held by the New York State College of Forestry in 1939, was the first important venture in education for this particular group. The courses it offered during the 4 weeks of its operation were designed to be helpful to the administrator, whether he be in charge of a single park or a system.
Such a short course does not seek—nor would a longer one—to make a park administrator expert in any technical field. What he needs to know, rather, is what the various technical fields are and in what specific ways their specialized knowledge or skills can be utilized most valuably. He needs also to have a good general knowledge of the whole land use and natural resource problem and the place in this problem which his own field of activity occupies. In other words, he needs to know something about the other fellow's problem as well as his own if his objectives and his efforts are to be kept in balance with the larger land-use scheme of which parks and recreation are a part. In most respects, he needs the same qualities that are required for a good conservation commissioner, plus a specialized knowledge of the special administrative problems of park and recreational administration and how they may be solved most economically and effectively. Literature on this subject, as it relates to State and National parks, is still largely lacking and is much needed. Though each system and each park offer problems peculiar to themselves, the tremendous amount of experiment and experience already accumulated, if studied, analyzed, and described, would undoubtedly be of value to any administrator.
Analysis of the administrative organization of the National Park Service indicated the need of that organization for various kinds of technical service—a need which is shared in greater or less degree by other agencies responsible for selection, development, and administration of areas notable for natural scenery, or for scientific, historic or prehistoric values. Effective utilization of such services is largely dependent on the technician's knowledge of and acceptance of the objectives of such properties and such adjustment of his methods as is required for accomplishment of those objectives. Thus, the wildlife technician whose training may have been in game management must adjust himself, in national parks and in most State parks, to acceptance of certain types of wildlife as desirable which he has previously been inclined to eliminate. The engineer accustomed, in laying out a road, to application of the fact that a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, must adjust his practices to the necessity of fitting the road into the landscape rather than carving it through. The landscape architect must plan developments to avoid unduly modifying the natural character of the landscape. And those who plan the development of any area must keep in mind the function it is to serve and the requirement of economy in upkeep and operation.
In view of the great variations in organizations and in local conditions it would be impractical at this time to attempt to suggest detailed statements of the qualifications for the various classes of personnel. In small organizations it is often necessary to give one man the responsibilities for types of work represented by several different professions. For example, one man may be required, in some situations, to handle all phases of planning and development—to be a landscape architect, architect, engineer, and construction superintendent combined, though this is a highly unsatisfactory arrangement, almost inevitably resulting in facilities unsatisfactory in one respect or another. In certain instances this same man may also be the administrator. Actual situations vary all the way from such one-man organizations to the large systems which have, in addition to an executive and numerous assistants, a staff of planners, designers, and specialists. The problem of personnel specifications, therefore, becomes one which must be worked out in accordance with the specific needs to be met and the means obtainable to meet them.
It is highly desirable, however, to work toward the establishment of standards and specifications for positions in park and recreation work in such a way as to permit development of a policy of liberal exchange and transfer of personnel among the various levels and units of government. This would tend to improve the standard of work and to provide a breadth of experience such as a single park or single system is unable to offer. While State lines will probably continue to be an obstacle to freest movement of personnel between parks and systems, particularly at the State level, there have been numerous instances recently in which States have "gone into the open market" to obtain personnel for key positions. County and city park boards have, many of them, long followed that practice. Several States have suggested specifications for park and recreational positions in their recreation study reports. Included in this group are Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, and South Carolina. In general, these specifications are in line with those of the Federal civil-service requirements for similar positions.
Smaller park agencies often find it advisable to retain highly qualified consultants rather than attempt to staff their organizations with men not so well qualified, whom they could afford to employ on a permanent basis. Larger organizations, including the National Park Service, have also found it a desirable practice to use consultants in the solution of special problems.
From a long range viewpoint it appears desirable as a general practice to make original selections of administrative and technical personnel for park and recreational work from among the top ranking graduates of American educational institutions and to confine original selection to the lower grade positions of the particular service or class. Such a procedure, if coupled with wide latitude for advancement and assurance of continuity of employment, will tend to eliminate from an increasingly specialized field those who either have already failed at some other profession or who lack the ability and energy to make a place for themselves in any field.
This policy must, of course, be subject to certain practical limitations. Provision should be made for personnel in the clerical and subprofessional classes to receive proper consideration for the professional and administrative positions on the basis of their experience, provided they have demonstrated the type of ability necessary for such positions. Thus, draftsmen who show initiative and ambition may be considered for appropriate professional positions, and in the same manner those who enter recreation in a clerical capacity may eventually rise to the administrative positions.
The need for personnel trained in park and recreational work has far outstripped the supply. Largely because of the various emergency work programs, new State and county systems have been created and older systems have been greatly expanded. Much of this work has been poorly planned and executed because of a lack of competent designers and construction men. This, in turn, has increased the problems connected with operation and maintenance. Concern over this general situation has caused leaders in the recreational field to give serious consideration to working out a comprehensive plan for the training of park personnel. A committee appointed by the National Conference on State Parks to study this problem recommended: (1) short courses of instruction at universities or regional centers for partly trained men in the lower income brackets, (2) undergraduate instruction in universities, (3) the inauguration of "return courses" for men in higher income brackets actively engaged in the profession to keep them abreast of the latest developments, and (4) summer employment of undergraduates specializing in landscape management or some other phase of recreation. Suggested outlines of study for both the short courses and undergraduate work were presented as a basis for further consideration.
Universities and colleges have shown an eagerness to cooperate in such a program. As previously stated, an experimental short course was initiated at the New York State College of Forestry, Syracuse University, during the winter of 1938-39 and others are planned for the future. Certain universities have already introduced subjects dealing with park design and management, recreational leadership, and other special phases of work, but to date no courses of study looking toward a degree in any of those subjects have been established.
It goes without saying that scholastic training must be followed by years of study, training, and experience in the recreational field before an employee is fully equipped to handle important responsibilities. He learns from his superiors on the job, from manuals and professional literature, and from actual experience in dealing with practical situations. Larger organizations with experienced personnel in the various branches of work can greatly expand opportunities to learn on the job through in-service training courses, but for the smaller agencies the institute or short course provides the best means of staff training. Through such a method the services of professionals in both the general field and in special branches of park work can be enlisted to lecture on practical problems involved in conducting a park and recreational program. New developments and trends can be presented for consideration and the successful practice of established agencies discussed.
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Last Modified: Mon, Aug 9 2004 10:00:00 pm PDT
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