America's National Parks
The Crown Gems of the USA
"On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the
National Park Service, a new federal bureau in the Department of the
Interior responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments
then managed by the department and those yet to be established.
This 'Organic Act' states that 'the Service thus established
shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national
parks, monuments and reservations…by such means and measures as conform to
the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations,
which purpose is to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic
objects and the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the
same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for
the enjoyment of future generations.'
An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 56 national monuments and military
sites from the Forest Service and the War Department to the National Park
Service. This action was a major step in the development of today's truly
national system of parks—a system that includes areas of historical as
well as scenic and scientific importance. Congress declared in the General
Authorities Act of 1970 'that the National Park System, which began with
the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, has since grown to
include superlative natural, historic, and recreation areas in every
region…and that it is the purpose of this Act to include all such areas in
the System….'
The National Park System of the United States now comprises more
than 400 areas covering more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the
District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the
Virgin Islands. These areas are of such national significance as to
justify special recognition and protection in accordance with various acts
of Congress.
Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through
acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through such
acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities Act of 1906,
to proclaim national monuments on lands already under federal
jurisdiction. The Secretary of the Interior is usually asked by Congress
for recommendations on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is
counseled by the National Park System Advisory Board, composed of private
citizens, which advises on possible additions to the System and policies
for its management.
The National Park Service still strives to meet its original goals, while
filling many other roles as well: guardian of our diverse cultural and
recreational resources; environmental advocate; partner in community
revitalization, world leader in the parks and preservation community; and
pioneer in the drive to protect America's open space.
Today more than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for
America's 400+ national parks and work with communities across the nation
to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational
opportunities."
National Park Service
Learn more from the NPS Website 🦌