The National Park Service Turns 100
The National Park Service of the United States turns 100 on August 25, 2016. Therefore in an effort to get more people outdoors this year, the park service urges us to find our park! As a result, admission will be FREE the weekend of the centennial from August 25th to the 28th. What better way to end summer than free admission to America’s greatest parks? Use hashtag #findyourpark on social media to express your support for the NPS and your favorite national park!
History of the NPS
“…to promote and regulate the use of the…national parks…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.” National Park Service Organic Act, 16 U.S.C.1.
This quote is part of the Organic Act, which created the National Park Service on August 25, 1916. Signed by President Woodrow Wilson, the act created the NPS to protect and regulate the then 35 national parks and monuments. Now after 100 years, the United States has 58 national parks and 117 national monuments (78 monuments managed by the NPS).
However before the Organic Act, the first national park, Yellowstone National Park, was signed into law in 1872 by President Ulysses S. Grant. After Yellowstone, other popular parks such as Sequoia and Yosemite were created soon after. Interestingly enough, the creation of Yellowstone inspired the founding of national parks worldwide.
10 Fun Facts About the NPS
The United States national park system is so unique with each park having its own distinct features. These facts below truly show how interesting this great land is and how much attention and love the parks have gotten throughout the years.
- The National Park System covers 84 million acres in the U.S. and its territories, which is roughly the size of Germany!
- There are more than 20,000 employees working for the National Park Service and around 200,000 volunteers.
- The largest national park is Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska, which occupies 13.2 million acres. It is six times the size of Yellowstone.
- The smallest national park is Hot Springs National Park in Arkansas, which is about 5,500 acres. However, the smallest park site run by the NPS but not considered a national park is Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania. It is 0.02 acres.
- In 2015 alone, 307,247,252 people visited the national parks for recreational purposes.
- National parks and national monuments are different. National monuments are protected because of their archaeological or historical significance. National parks are chosen for ecological significance, beauty, and/or unique geology.
- We learned that Yellowstone is the oldest park, but the newest park is actually Pinnacles National Park. It was created in 2013 in California.
- Wind Cave National Park became the first cave to become a national park in the world in 1903.
- Including all the national parks, monuments, and sites, there are 18,000 miles of trails to enjoy!
- The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the most visited national park in the United States. It draws 10 million visitors a year.
Sources:
https://www.nps.gov/subjects/centennial/index.htm
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/viator/the-newest-national-parks_b_9518160.html
www.austinadventures.com/travel-resources/10-fun-facts-about-national-parks/
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