Read the following passage regarding early federal land management:
The creation of the National Park Service (NPS) in 1916 through the Organic Act represented a crucial consolidation of federal oversight. Prior to 1916, national parks and monuments were haphazardly administered by three disparate entities: the Department of the Interior, the War Department, and the Forest Service. The Organic Act brought these territories under a unified agency. In its formative decades under the directorship of Stephen Mather, the NPS heavily prioritized visitor access and recreational infrastructure over strict ecological preservation. To accommodate the booming automobile culture, the agency funded the construction of grand rustic lodges and built extensive networks of paved scenic roadways. Furthermore, it implemented aggressive predator control programs to protect popular grazing species like elk and deer, and it actively suppressed all natural wildfires, viewing them strictly as destructive threats to scenic beauty rather than essential ecological processes. Conversely, the early NPS deliberately avoided purely scientific conservation efforts; it did NOT conduct systematic wildlife population surveys, nor did it restrict the introduction of non-native game fish into pristine park lakes to boost recreational angling.
Evaluate the following statement based on the passage:
The author explicitly notes that the early National Park Service funded the construction of grand rustic lodges, built extensive networks of scenic roadways, and implemented predator control programs, but did NOT actively suppress natural wildfires.
Answer: Answer