Skip to main content
Access to this video is a benefit for members through
Back to Show
The National Parks

Great Nature (1933-1945)

Season 1 Episode 5

To battle unemployment in the Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt creates the Civilian Conservation Corps, which spawns a “golden age” for the parks through major renovation projects. In a groundbreaking study, a young NPS biologist named George Melendez Wright discovers widespread abuses of animal habitats and pushes the service to reform its wildlife policies.

Watch Preview
Support Provided By
 Morning of Creation (1946-1980)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:40
Examine the proliferation of protected lands and the protection of predatory animals.
Going Home (1920-1933)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:54:41
Encounter the growing numbers of visitors to the parks.
The Empire Of Grandeur (1915-1919)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:50:32
Learn about the federal agency created to protect the parks.
The National Parks Season 1
Unlock with PBS Passport
2:11:22
Investigate the efforts of Theodore Roosevelt, John Muir and others to protect the land.
The Scripture of Nature (1851-1890)
Unlock with PBS Passport
1:53:40
Examine the radical idea of creating national parks for the enjoyment of everyone.
Active loading indicator