Which is why it's a bad idea to turn the National Parks over to the states. Yosemite used to be entrusted to the state of California and the valley floor was clear cut and the Merced River was polluted with mercury from gold mining.
IMHO National Parks are one of the things the Federal government gets RIGHT.
Why do the Feds need millions of acres of land? Look at Death Valley. Over 3000 sq. mi., most of it of no particular beauty or significance. It was fine as a national monument, where there was some economic development allowed, but now every sq. inch of it is sacrosanct and off limits to development forever. The Feds are having a harder time managing all this space and they are wanting more of it off limits to economic activity. So why not carve out the most significant areas for preservation and auction off or allow homesteading to the vast majority of the remmaining acreage. It gives the Feds inordinate power to hold so much land, esp. over Western states, the majority of which are composed of Federal land. Oh, they will let it be developed, to crooks like Whorehouse Harry Reid, but if you are not an insider, forget it. The Eastern states are under no such restrictions, the majority of their lands being privately owned. Western states should have that same advantage, and these lands should be open to all comers, not just the well-connected few like Reid.