America's National Parks Excited About Ken Burns' Documentary

The National Parks: America's Best Idea traces the development of the parks, park system and the people who contributed to it during the past 150 years. The series begins Sunday night on PBS and runs through Oct. 2. It is directed by acclaimed filmmaker Ken Burns, and co-produced by Dayton Duncan.

All the national parks involved in the documentary seem to have greatly enjoyed their experience, and are excited about the way the film turned out.

At Great Basin National Park, in northeast Nevada, the bristlecones are a main attraction. Andy Ferguson, superintendent of the park, told the Reno Gazette-Journal, "I have seen the cuts (of the film) that they allowed the park service to view. Dayton Duncan, one of the co-producers, showed it to us and I was tickled to see the bristlecone pine trees front and central in one of the shots there."

"It was entertaining, fun and interesting," Curt Dimmick, chief park ranger, said. He also said that the trees "represent a kind of strength through adversity. You've got this living thing that when conditions are the worst they seem to thrive the best in terms of longevity."

Being included in the documentary, he said, is an opportunity for the park to be viewed as "one of the hidden jewels among the crown jewels" of America's national parks.

Yosemite National Park ranger Scott Gediman believes that "this film is going to be a huge boost to the parks." He added, "This is the definitive film on the Park Service. It's really the history of the parks — not just what hotels to stay in when you visit."

"Something like 'The National Parks,' I hope, will surprise. It's got every bit the amount of emotion as anything (else)," Burns said recently while addressing the Television Critics Association in California. "And because it isn't just beauty shot after beauty shot, but complicated narrative stories about very interesting and diverse people, I think it fits in utterly with everything else that we've done."