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|Tradition of Conservation|Synthesis of Cultures|Jim Corbett|
Efforts to save the forests of the region began in the 19th century itself under Major Ramsay, the British Officer who was in-charge of the area during those times. The first step in the protection of the area began in 1868 when their management was taken over by the Forest Department. In 1879 these forests were constituted into a Reserve Forest where restricted felling was permitted.
Later, in the early 1900s several Britishers, including E.R. Stevans and E.A. Smythies, mooted the idea of setting up of a National Park on this soil. It was only in the 1930s that the process for demarcation of such an area got underway, assisted by Jim Corbett, who knew the area well.
The U.P. National Park Act was finally passed in 1935 when Sir Malcolm Hailey was Governor of United Provinces and Asia’s first National Park came into existence. The Park was spread over an area of 122 square miles (about 312 sq.km) was first named as Hailey National Park. After independence, in 1952, the name was changed to Ramganga National Park. Then in 1957, the park was once again christened Corbett National Park as a tribute to the legendary Jim Corbett.
Corbett added yet another first to its credit when in 1973 when Corbett National Park served as the launchpad for India’s tiger protection programme Project Tiger and also became India’s first Tiger Reserve.
The Tiger Reserve was reorganised and presently includes two protected areas – Corbett National Park and Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary – and parts of reserve forests, covering a total area of 1318 sq. km.
|Tradition of Conservation|Synthesis of Cultures|Jim Corbett| |
The area that now comprises
Corbett National Park and its surroundings was known for its wildlife and scenic
beauty more than a hundred years ago.