Document Type

Article

Publication Date

5-15-2026

Department 1

Environmental Studies

Abstract

This paper articulates an approach Dr. Wilson developed and refined over several decades for teaching the subject of national parks and protected areas to undergraduate students in the college classroom. A similar approach informs his book-length works, which are geared not just to students and academic peers, but to the general public. Consequently, he believes these ideas may also be useful for public outreach. It involves the use of conceptual frameworks and what he refers to as “ladders.” While the frameworks allow students to better contextualize and identify broad themes in their study of national parks and protected areas, the ladders refer to pedagogic strategies for making rather abstract or historical ideas more tangible, concrete, and meaningful for students. The approach illustrated with examples drawn from a seminar course that he teaches on US federal public lands at Gettysburg College. The seminar, in turn, follows the structure outlined in his book, America’s Public Lands: From Yellowstone to Smokey Bear.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

DOI

10.5070/P5.65809

Version

Version of Record

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