I WONDER... How is a national park created?
A visit to White Sands gets me thinking
While in New Mexico recently, I took the opportunity to visit White Sands National Park as part of my quest to visit all of America’s 63 national parks. I’m a committed national park fan, having adventured in 39 of these amazing places so far. Each park has such a different character that makes discovering new ones so exciting. White Sands had barely been on my radar given its rather isolated location and its fairly recent upgrade in status from a national monument.
I was immediately struck by this otherworldly landscape, my mind doing a double-take to discern whether the brilliant expanses of pure white drifts were snow or sand. I learned that the dunes are composed of gypsum, a mineral left behind as the immense Permian Sea retreated millions of years ago. Today, ephemeral lakes evaporate seasonally, continuing to expose more gypsum which the strong prevailing winds constantly sculpt and push into these dynamic dunes. Driving the park roads felt a lot like driving in a snow-swept ski area parking lot!
The gypsum feels incredibly soft and slightly chalky - very different from the texture of sand eroded from rock. (Gypsum is most commonly used in drywall and plaster.) It’s also much cooler to the touch than you would expect, given the blazing New Mexico sun. Water lies just below the ground here, cooling the gypsum and gluing the vast dune field together.
These are the largest gypsum dunes in the world and are home to a unique lizard and mouse species sporting bleached out colors to match the sand. A few plants are able to eke out an existence as they are buried and re-emerge in the shifting dunes.
The aspect of the park that surprised me most was that its main attraction for visitors appeared to be the chance to sled down the dunes. On the winter day I visited, there were hundreds of people spread in groups throughout the dunes, picnicking and having a blast sliding down the slopes on saucers rented from the visitor center. (There are also hiking trails to explore the dunes and trek out into the surrounding scrubland.)
This mostly single-use focus of the park for sledding recreation left me scratching my head about its status. I was curious why, after over 80 years as a monument, it gained promotion to the loftier national park designation in 2019. While striking, it hardly comes close to measuring up to the grandeur or diversity of most national parks so I wondered what was up.
A little background: The designation of national parks and national monuments in the United States follows two separate paths. National parks must be established through an act of Congress, following extensive studies by the National Park Service that evaluate the area's natural, cultural, and recreational significance. These parks typically protect large landscapes with diverse features and provide extensive visitor facilities.
National monuments, however, can be created directly by presidential proclamation. They usually protect specific historic, prehistoric, or scientific features and tend to be smaller in scope than national parks and often have more limited visitor services and facilities. In fact, just this month, President Biden designated the new Chuckwalla National Monument in California.
Checking on the history of White Sands, I learned that the push for re-designation as a park was championed by New Mexico's congressional delegation who saw it as an opportunity to boost tourism and economic development in southern New Mexico. National parks typically receive more visibility, media attention, and visitors than national monuments, which can translate into significant economic benefits for surrounding communities.
Interestingly, the re-designation also involved a complex land swap agreement between the National Park Service and White Sands Missile Range which surrounds it, which helped resolve some long-standing boundary and security issues between the two facilities. (The park regularly closes to the public for brief periods during missile tests.)
There were other political issues also at play. The change to national park status was included within the National Defense Authorization Act for 2020 - a must-pass piece of legislation that funds the military. This strategic placement helped ensure its passage, as it would have been more challenging to pass as a standalone bill.
Not every state is lucky enough to have a national park so this change is definitely a boon to New Mexico. I’m a prime example of someone who ventured out of my way to check it out and get my passport stamped. It was a fun visit and a great chance to learn about this amazing natural feature. On to park #40!
