Indianola native Dayton Duncan will discuss and screen part of his new project "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," which he produced with Ken Burns. The documentary premieres nationally on Sept. 27. WHEN and WHERE: 3 and 7 p.m. Friday at Simpson College's Lekberg Hall in Indianola...
7 p.m. Saturday at Iowa Western Community College's Looft Hall in Council Bluffs
ADMISSION: Free
BONUS: An earlier Duncan/Burns project, "Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery," airs at 3 p.m. Sunday on Iowa Public Television.
INFO: pbs.org/nationalparks
Dayton Duncan, an Indianola, Iowa native, will visit Indianola on Friday and Council Bluffs on Saturday to talk about the filming process - all six years, 800 rolls of film and 50 interviews of it. He'll talk about how the show, like earlier projects with Burns ("The Civil War," "Baseball" and "Jazz"), explores the big sweep of history and draws parallels with today.
Duncan's research also casts new light on some of the parks' unsung heroes, including the late U.S. Rep. John Lacey, an eight-term Republican from Oskaloosa. He authored bills around the turn of the last century that protected park animals from poaching and gave presidents the authority to set aside new areas for historic and scientific reasons.
Theodore Roosevelt used Lacey's Antiquities Act of 1906 to protect Devils Tower and the Grand Canyon, and President Carter used it to save wildlife in Alaska. Most recently, President George W. Bush used the law to preserve Hawaii's northwestern islands.
The Antiquities Act "really is the greatest tool for conservation in history," Duncan said. "As a fellow Iowan, I'm particularly proud to give John F. Lacey the credit he's due."The filmmaker hopes the series will renew enthusiasm for the "uniquely American" idea of the national parks.
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