Abstract
Following Yellowstone, Mackinac national park was established in 1875 on Mackinac Island in northern Michigan. This park did not possess natural wonders as found in Yellowstone or Yosemite, but played very importand role in the development of national parks in the United States.
First of all, the park was put under the control of the Secretary of War, and the Army managed the area very well in spite of the lack of sufficient fund in contrast to other national parks. For this reason, the Army was asked to manage Yellowstone and three other parks in California until National Park Service was organized in 1916. Secondly, because of easy access and abundant accommodation, many people could visit this park. This kept the Army extremely busy, but as a consequence, various management methods were tried out and examined while they were struggling with various problems. Among them, the regulation of concessionaires seems important. In addition, it should be noted that the Fort itself was preserves as a kind of historic site and that visitors recognized the view of soldiers at the Fort were quite satisfying attraction of the park.
At the same time, the history of this park tells us how national parks were perceived at that time. It is clear that this national park was not created for the conservation of outstanding natural environment, but for the interest and benefit of local people. Of course there existed a few farsighted people, but the fact that early parks could not receive any fund to manage indicates lack of strong interest in the conservation and understanding of the national park idea. The national park idea seems to be developed gradually with the increase of the number and areas, and managemental technics.
