"History of the National Park Service Since 1872 the United States National Park System has grown from a single, public reservation called Yellowstone National Park to embrace over 450 natural, historical, recreational, and cultural areas throughout the United States, its territories, and island possessions. These areas include a diverse varieties of areas —National Parks, National Monuments, National Memorials, National Military Parks, National Historic Sites, National Parkways, National Recreation Areas, National Seashores, National Scenic Riverways, National Scenic Trails, and others. The national park idea has been credited to the artist George Catlin. In 1832 he traveled the northern Great Plains of"
"Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of its most popular features. It has many types of ecosystems, but the subalpine forest is the most abundant. It is part of"
"the United States established the first ""public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people"", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872. Although Yellowstone was not officially termed a ""national park"" in its establishing law, it was always termed such in practice and is widely held to be the first and oldest national park in the world. However, the Tobago Main Ridge Forest Reserve (established in 1776), and the area surrounding Bogd Khan Uul Mountain (1778) are seen as the oldest legally protected areas, predating Yellowstone by nearly a century. The first area to use ""national park"" in its"
"this argument but eventually pleaded guilty, with the plea deal including his specific agreement not to raise the issue in his appeal. Yellowstone National Park Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was established by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant on March 1, 1872. Yellowstone was the first national park in the U.S. and is also widely held to be the first national park in the world. The park is known for its wildlife and its many geothermal features, especially Old Faithful geyser, one of"
"human activity often negatively impacts native flora and fauna. As such, to better protect critical habitats and preserve low-impact recreational opportunities, legal concepts of ""wilderness"" were established in many countries, beginning with the United States (see below). The first National Park was Yellowstone, which was signed into law by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant on 1 March 1872. The Act of Dedication declared Yellowstone a land ""hereby reserved and withdrawn from settlement, occupancy, or sale under the laws of the United States, and dedicated and set apart as a public park or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of"
"to ten years and the proceeds were to be used for conservation and improvement. A public discussion followed this first legislation of its kind and there was a heated debate over whether the government had the right to create parks. The perceived mismanagement of Yosemite by the Californian state was the reason why Yellowstone at its establishment six years later was put under national control. In 1872, Yellowstone National Park was established as the United States' first national park, being also the world's first national park. In some European and Asian countries, however, national protection and nature reserves already existed,"
"of the NPS is delegated by the Secretary of the Interior to the National Park Service Director, who must be confirmed by the Senate. In 2008, there were 21,989 employees of the NPS who oversaw units, of which 59 are designated national parks. National parks must be established by an act of the United States Congress. The first national park, Yellowstone, was signed into law by President Ulysses S. Grant in 1872, followed by Mackinac National Park in 1875 (decommissioned in 1895), and then Sequoia and Yosemite in 1890. Criteria for the selection of National Parks include natural beauty, unique"
"a result of differential erosion during the Cenozoic, although some post-Paleozoic tectonic activity occurred in the region. Legislation to create a national park in the Appalachian mountains was first introduced by new Virginia congressman Henry D. Flood in 1901, but despite the support of President Theodore Roosevelt, failed to pass. The first national park was Yellowstone, in Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. It was signed into law in 1872. Yosemite National Park was created in 1890. When Congress created the National Park Service (NPS) in 1916, additional parks had maintained the western pattern (Crater Lake in 1902, Wind Cave in 1903,"
"principles. It was reprinted in several national publications, and many of its recommendations were incorporated into the official policies of the NPS. Although the report is notable for proposing that park management have a fundamental goal of reflecting ""the primitive scene ... a reasonable illusion of primitive America"", some have criticized it for its idealism and limited scope. Yellowstone National Park was established by the United States Congress on March 1, 1872, as the first U.S. national park, and quickly became a popular tourist destination. At first, national parks were overseen by a variety of agencies and lacked bureaucratic support."
"proposed previously, the United States established the first ""public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people"", Yellowstone National Park, in 1872, although Yellowstone was not gazetted as a national park. The first officially designated national park was Mackinac Island, gazetted in 1875. Australia's Royal National Park, established in 1879, was the world's second officially established national park. The largest national park in the world is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974 and currently protects In some Federal systems, many parks are managed by the sub-national levels of government. In Brazil, the United"
"men. In 1871, Ferdinand Vandeveer Hayden led a formal geological survey of the area, the result of which ultimately convinced Congress to set aside the region. Yellowstone National Park became the world's first National Park in 1872. In August 1886, the U.S. Army was given administration of the park. In 1917, administration of the park was transferred to the new National Park Service. Hundreds of structures have been built and are protected for their architectural and historical significance, and researchers have examined more than 1,000 archaeological sites. Most of Yellowstone National Park is located in Wyoming. Wyoming is also home"
"referred to as the ""Father of the National Parks"". In 1916, the National Park Service was created to protect national parks and monuments. In 1921, Benton MacKaye, a forester, conceived the idea of the America's first National trail, the Appalachian trail, and this was completed in August 1937, running from Sugarloaf Mountain in Maine to Georgia. The Pacific Crest Trail (""PCT"") was first explored in the 1930s by the YMCA hiking groups and was eventually registered as a complete border to border trail from Mexico to Canada. See also: National Park; National Parks of England and Wales; of Canada; of"
"National Park Service uniforms The United States National Park Service, often referred to as the USNPS or NPS, is run by the United States Department of Interior and is charged with protecting, preserving, and interpreting the nation's national parks. While the first national park, Yellowstone, was created in 1872, the National Park Service has only existed since 1916. There was no unifying dress for park officials until the United States Army Cavalry took over the protection of the parks in 1886. For nearly a century since it was officially established, the USNPS underwent several major uniform changes, although several items,"
"added to preserve unique resources and existing park facilities were upgraded and expanded. In 1966, as the Park Service turned 50 years old, emphasis began to turn from just saving great and wonderful scenery and unique natural features to making parks accessible to the public. Director George Hartzog began the process with the creation of the National Lakeshores and then National Recreation Areas. Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service has managed each of the United States' national parks, which have grown in number over the years to 60. Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in"
"as a national park"" was introduced December 2, 1874 and signed by the President on March 3, 1875. The national park covered 821 acres while the fort retained 103 acres and the remainder of the island was privately owned. The park grounds abutted Fort Mackinac, which continued to serve as a garrison of the United States Army during the operation of the park, as well as island geological features such as Arch Rock and Sugar Loaf. The fort's commander ran the park and federal troops served as park rangers, as at Yellowstone. The park had the authority to construct roads"
"the 19th and 20th centuries from the old idioms used for the Wardens – royally appointed – who patrolled the deer parks and hunting forests in England. There is much debate among scholars about which area was the world's first national park (Yosemite or Yellowstone), so not surprisingly there is little agreement about who was the first national park ranger. Some argue that Galen Clark was first when, on May 21, 1866, he became the first person formally appointed and paid to protect and administer Yosemite, thus become California's and the nation's first park ranger. Clark served as the Guardian"
"National Park beginning as early as 1875. In 1876, Congress created the office of Special Agent in the Department of Agriculture to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the United States. Franklin B. Hough was appointed the head of the office. In 1881, the office was expanded into the newly formed Division of Forestry. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 authorized withdrawing land from the public domain as ""forest reserves,"" managed by the Department of the Interior. In 1901, the Division of Forestry was renamed the Bureau of Forestry. The Transfer Act of 1905 transferred the management of"
"a ""National Park"" did require Congressional action. In addition to limiting the number of national monument declarations the president could make, the bill would forbid the government from declaring land belonging to a private owner as a national monument without the private owner's consent. The bill was introduced in the United States House of Representatives during the 113th United States Congress. President Theodore Roosevelt established the first national monument, Devils Tower in Wyoming, on September 24, 1906. There are over 100 National Monuments in the United States. Presidential use of the Antiquities Act to declare a National Monument: ""This summary"
"United States to administer these units in a comprehensive way – the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). The 64th United States Congress passed the National Park Service Organic Act, which President Woodrow Wilson signed into law on 25 August 1916. Of the sites managed by the National Park Service of the United States, only 60 carry the designation of National Park. Following the idea established in Yellowstone, there soon followed parks in other nations. In Australia, the Royal National Park was established just south of Sydney on 26 April 1879, becoming the world's second official national park (actually the 3rd:"
"such as a part of Forest of Fontainebleau (France, 1861). Yellowstone was part of a federally governed territory. With no state government that could assume stewardship of the land, the federal government took on direct responsibility for the park, the official first national park of the United States. The combined effort and interest of conservationists, politicians and the Northern Pacific Railroad ensured the passage of enabling legislation by the United States Congress to create Yellowstone National Park. Theodore Roosevelt and his group of conservationists, the Boone and Crockett Club, were already an active campaigners, and so influential, as good stump"
"National Recreation Area A National Recreation Area (NRA) is a designation for a protected area in the United States. Early National Recreation Areas were established by interagency memoranda of agreement between the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the National Park Service. The first National Recreation Area was the Boulder Dam Recreation Area, later renamed Lake Mead National Recreation Area. In 1963, the President's Recreation Advisory Committee issued an Executive Branch policy that established criteria for establishing National Recreation Areas. The policy also called for all future National Recreation Areas to be established by acts of the United States Congress. In"
"Acadia National Park Acadia National Park is an American national park located in the state of Maine, southwest of Bar Harbor. The park preserves about half of Mount Desert Island, many adjacent smaller islands, and part of the Schoodic Peninsula on the coast of Maine. Acadia was initially designated Sieur de Monts National Monument by proclamation of President Woodrow Wilson in 1916. Sieur de Monts was renamed and redesignated Lafayette National Park by Congress in 1919—the first national park in the United States east of the Mississippi River and the only one in the Northeastern United States. The park was"
"as the world's first national park in 1872. Tower Fall Tower Fall is a waterfall on Tower Creek in the northeastern region of Yellowstone National Park, in the U.S. state of Wyoming. Approximately upstream from the creek's confluence with the Yellowstone River, the fall plunges 132 feet (40 m). Its name comes from the rock pinnacles at the top of the fall. Tower Creek and Tower Falls are located approximately three miles south of Roosevelt Junction on the Tower-Canyon road. On September 15–16, 1869, members of the Cook–Folsom–Peterson Expedition spent a whole day in the Tower Fall area before crossing"
"National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act 1949. The idea for a form of national parks was first proposed in the United States in the 1860s, where national parks were established to protect wilderness areas such as Yosemite. This model has been used in many other countries since, but not in the United Kingdom. After thousands of years of human integration into the landscape, Britain lacks any substantial areas of wilderness. Furthermore, those areas of natural beauty so cherished by the romantic poets were often only maintained and managed in their existing state by human activity, usually agriculture. By"
"of the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park was established on March 1, 1872, as the world's first national park. Between 1872 and 1886, the park was administered by the Interior Department and was managed by a civilian superintendent with limited resources or legal authority to maintain and protect the park's natural features and wildlife, or to deal with poaching, vandalism and other destructive activities. Over the next decade, special interest groups such as concessionaires, railroad and mining interests attempted to commercialize and privatize park lands. The poorly funded Interior Department was unable to prevent degradation of the park and"
"National Zoological Park (United States) The National Zoological Park, commonly known as the National Zoo, is one of the oldest zoos in the United States. It is part of the Smithsonian Institution and does not charge for admission. Founded in 1889, its mission is to ""provide engaging experiences with animals and create and share knowledge to save wildlife and habitats"". The National Zoo has two campuses. The first is a urban park located at Rock Creek Park in Northwest Washington, D.C., 20 minutes from the National Mall by MetroRail. The other campus is the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI; formerly"
"Park, in 1875, just three years after Yellowstone National Park was named as the first national park. To accommodate an influx of tourists in the 1880s, the boat and railroad companies built hotels, including the Grand Hotel. Souvenir shops began to spring up as a way for island residents to profit from the tourists. Many wealthy business magnates built summer ""cottages"" along the island's bluffs for extended stays. When the federal government left the island in 1895, all of the federal land, including Fort Mackinac, was given to the state of Michigan and became Michigan's first state park. The Mackinac"
"the United States. In 1872, there was no state government to manage it, so the federal government assumed direct control. Yosemite National Park began as a state park; the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership. At first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the civilian staff was replaced by the U.S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the federal government to improve the"
"like the Grand Canyon. National Parks in Yellowstone and around Yosemite Valley were established by the early 1890s. U.S. Senator Benjamin Harrison introduced a bill in 1887 to establish a national park at the Grand Canyon. The bill died in committee, but on February 20, 1893, Harrison (then President of the United States) declared the Grand Canyon to be a National Forest Preserve. Mining and logging were allowed, but the designation did offer some protection. President Theodore Roosevelt visited the Grand Canyon in 1903. An avid outdoorsman and staunch conservationist, he established the Grand Canyon Game Preserve on November 28,"
"Shoshone National Forest Shoshone National Forest ( ) is the first federally protected National Forest in the United States and covers nearly in the state of Wyoming. Originally a part of the Yellowstone Timberland Reserve, the forest is managed by the United States Forest Service and was created by an act of Congress and signed into law by U.S. President Benjamin Harrison in 1891. Shoshone National Forest is one of the first nationally protected land areas anywhere. Native Americans have lived in the region for at least 10,000 years, and when the region was first explored by European adventurers, forestlands"
"National Parkway A National Parkway is a designation for a protected area in the United States. The designation is given to a scenic roadway and a protected corridor of surrounding parkland. National Parkways often connect cultural or historic sites. The U.S. National Park Service manages the parkways. The first ""parkways"" in the United States were developed in the late 19th century by landscape architects Frederick Law Olmsted and Beatrix Farrand as roads segregated for pedestrians, bicyclists, equestrians, and horse carriages, such as the Eastern Parkway and Ocean Parkway in Brooklyn, New York. The terminology ""parkway"" to define this type of"
"Albright had been seeking the creation of separate agency to manage the National Parks and Monuments. On June 10, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 6166 which consolidated all National Parks and National Monuments, National Military Parks, the eleven National Cemeteries, National Memorials, and the National Capital Parks into a single National Park System. The National Park Service was directed to oversee all of these areas. There were three significant results of this action: National Capital Parks are the oldest parks in the National Park System. These parks began with the founding of the District of Columbia in"
"the idea for the park. George B. Dorr, called the ""Father of Acadia National Park,"" along with Eliot's father Charles W. Eliot (president of Harvard from 1869 to 1909), supported the idea both through donations of land and through advocacy at the state and federal levels. President Woodrow Wilson first established its federal status as Sieur de Monts National Monument on July 8, 1916, administered by the National Park Service. Congress redesignated the national monument as Lafayette National Park on February 26, 1919, the first American national park east of the Mississippi River and the only one in the Northeastern"