This section will explore the early movement to establish national parks, then discuss the creation of the National Park Service (NPS) and the management of parks under NPS.
Before the creation of a national park service, the federal government identified land areas to be set aside for preservation and public usage. The federal government designated Hot Springs National Reservation the first “national reservation” in 1832. In 1864, the United States Congress identified Yosemite Valley as an important land area and gave it to California to manage as a state park. The move towards the establishment of a national park system begin in 1871 when Professor F.V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist, with a party of scientists, photographers, and painters surveyed the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. The resulting geological report aroused interest in Yellowstone.[1] Hayden wanted the area to become a national park and persuaded Senator Pomeroy of Kansas and Delegate Clagett of Montana to introduce a bill for the creation of Yellowstone Park. President Grant signed the bill into law on March 1, 1872, creating the first national park in the world.[2]
Despite the creation of Yellowstone National Park, the federal government did not provide management or protection to the park.[3] The park received little support until 1883 when army engineers began overseeing road construction. Park-wide planning emerged with the construction of roads, tourists’ accommodations, administrative facilities, and trails after the Secretary of the Interior called for complete and comprehensive plans for the national parks in 1910.[4]
The establishment of the first national park did not motivate the federal government to create a park service. Despite the absence of a central administrative system, the U.S. government continued to create national parks. In 1875, Congress created Mackinac National Park, managed by the army that had a presence on the island. Congress established Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in 1890. Mount Rainier received national park status in 1899.[5] The national parks received more support from the federal government when Theodore Roosevelt, who was often considered the “conservation president,” was inaugurated in 1901. Five new national parks were established during his presidency. He also helped secure the passage of the Antiquities Act, enacted in June 1906.[6] The act, which provided for the creation of national monuments, made it illegal to take antiquities from federal lands and legislated penalties to punish violators.[7]
The interest in the early parks resulted from a growing interest in environmental conservation. Concerned with the nation’s expansion west and the resulting depletion of land and resources, citizens became interested in preserving the remaining scenic lands. As the environmental conservation movement grew, people focused on preserving lands in the east as well.[8] Though no cohesive environmental conservation movement existed in 1872, the creation of Yellowstone National Park resulted, in part, from concerns with saving the falls of the Yellowstone River and the geysers.[9]
Before the creation of the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of War managed the parks, monuments, battlefields, and historic sites.[10] Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane worried about the parks being administered by three departments and brought Stephen Mather to Washington, D.C., to address the issues with the parks. Mather, along with Horace M. Albright, focused on park administration.[11] Albright shared Mather’s enthusiasm for the parks and assisted in the legislative campaign. His skills were crucial to the passage of the act creating the National Park Service.[12]
A comprehensive campaign to establish a national parks service begin in 1910. The four individuals who led the initiative to create the service were J. Horace McFarland, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Stephen T. Mather, and Horace M. Albright. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., a renowned landscape architect, believed the parks lacked coordinated leadership resulting in inefficiencies, which could be corrected with businesslike strategies.[13] Under J. Horace McFarland’s guidance, the American Civic Association (ACA) became the leading professional organization supporting the national park legislation. The ACA was instrumental in drafting the statement of the park’s principal purpose in the Organic Act of 1916, which created the National Park Service. McFarland also proposed that the future park system be called the National Park Service in 1911.
As Mather, Albright, and the others worked tirelessly to promote the formation of a national parks administration, numerous bills were introduced in Congress. After failed attempts in 1912 and 1913, a bill was introduced at the Sixty-fourth Congress, convening in December 1915. The time was right for the passage of the bill in 1916, a presidential election year. Placed in an envelope with an army appropriation bill to ensure that President Woodrow Wilson would sign it, the National Park Service Act was signed on August 25, 1916.[14] The act served as the basis for the National Park Service’s philosophy, policies, and decision making.[15] On May 9, 1917, Secretary Lane approved Mather as director and Albright as assistant director.[16]
The creation of the National Park Service did not lessen the fights faced by its proponents. The newly formed NPS withstood attacks from the National Forest Service, which focused on use over the conservation of nature. To protect it from threats, a creed, titled Statement of National Park Policy, May 13, 1918, from Franklin K. Lane to Mr. Stephen T. Mather, printed in the 1918 annual report of the NPS, provided the ideological guidelines to which the National Park Service could aspire.[17]
Despite the issuance of the creed and the years of diligent work, the National Park Service faced immense opposition when it sought control of the Grand Canyon. Stock growers wanted unlimited grazing rights. Other groups were interested in damming the Colorado River. The Forest Service was interested in controlling the land. A 1917 bill to create the Grand Canyon National Park failed to pass.[18] On May 16, 1918, the Senate passed a bill for the creation of the Grand Canyon National Park. It was signed into law on February 26, 1919.
The tireless efforts of the early national park crusaders continue to benefit the nation. The lands that became national parks and monuments offer recreation to the public who can enjoy areas untouched by commercialization and the expanding building markets. The areas provide refuge for wildlife with dwindling habitats.
Before the creation of a national park service, the federal government identified land areas to be set aside for preservation and public usage. The federal government designated Hot Springs National Reservation the first “national reservation” in 1832. In 1864, the United States Congress identified Yosemite Valley as an important land area and gave it to California to manage as a state park. The move towards the establishment of a national park system begin in 1871 when Professor F.V. Hayden, U.S. Geologist, with a party of scientists, photographers, and painters surveyed the sources of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers. The resulting geological report aroused interest in Yellowstone.[1] Hayden wanted the area to become a national park and persuaded Senator Pomeroy of Kansas and Delegate Clagett of Montana to introduce a bill for the creation of Yellowstone Park. President Grant signed the bill into law on March 1, 1872, creating the first national park in the world.[2]
Despite the creation of Yellowstone National Park, the federal government did not provide management or protection to the park.[3] The park received little support until 1883 when army engineers began overseeing road construction. Park-wide planning emerged with the construction of roads, tourists’ accommodations, administrative facilities, and trails after the Secretary of the Interior called for complete and comprehensive plans for the national parks in 1910.[4]
The establishment of the first national park did not motivate the federal government to create a park service. Despite the absence of a central administrative system, the U.S. government continued to create national parks. In 1875, Congress created Mackinac National Park, managed by the army that had a presence on the island. Congress established Sequoia and Yosemite National Parks in 1890. Mount Rainier received national park status in 1899.[5] The national parks received more support from the federal government when Theodore Roosevelt, who was often considered the “conservation president,” was inaugurated in 1901. Five new national parks were established during his presidency. He also helped secure the passage of the Antiquities Act, enacted in June 1906.[6] The act, which provided for the creation of national monuments, made it illegal to take antiquities from federal lands and legislated penalties to punish violators.[7]
The interest in the early parks resulted from a growing interest in environmental conservation. Concerned with the nation’s expansion west and the resulting depletion of land and resources, citizens became interested in preserving the remaining scenic lands. As the environmental conservation movement grew, people focused on preserving lands in the east as well.[8] Though no cohesive environmental conservation movement existed in 1872, the creation of Yellowstone National Park resulted, in part, from concerns with saving the falls of the Yellowstone River and the geysers.[9]
Before the creation of the National Park Service, the Department of the Interior, Department of Agriculture, and the Department of War managed the parks, monuments, battlefields, and historic sites.[10] Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane worried about the parks being administered by three departments and brought Stephen Mather to Washington, D.C., to address the issues with the parks. Mather, along with Horace M. Albright, focused on park administration.[11] Albright shared Mather’s enthusiasm for the parks and assisted in the legislative campaign. His skills were crucial to the passage of the act creating the National Park Service.[12]
A comprehensive campaign to establish a national parks service begin in 1910. The four individuals who led the initiative to create the service were J. Horace McFarland, Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., Stephen T. Mather, and Horace M. Albright. Frederick Law Olmsted, Jr., a renowned landscape architect, believed the parks lacked coordinated leadership resulting in inefficiencies, which could be corrected with businesslike strategies.[13] Under J. Horace McFarland’s guidance, the American Civic Association (ACA) became the leading professional organization supporting the national park legislation. The ACA was instrumental in drafting the statement of the park’s principal purpose in the Organic Act of 1916, which created the National Park Service. McFarland also proposed that the future park system be called the National Park Service in 1911.
As Mather, Albright, and the others worked tirelessly to promote the formation of a national parks administration, numerous bills were introduced in Congress. After failed attempts in 1912 and 1913, a bill was introduced at the Sixty-fourth Congress, convening in December 1915. The time was right for the passage of the bill in 1916, a presidential election year. Placed in an envelope with an army appropriation bill to ensure that President Woodrow Wilson would sign it, the National Park Service Act was signed on August 25, 1916.[14] The act served as the basis for the National Park Service’s philosophy, policies, and decision making.[15] On May 9, 1917, Secretary Lane approved Mather as director and Albright as assistant director.[16]
The creation of the National Park Service did not lessen the fights faced by its proponents. The newly formed NPS withstood attacks from the National Forest Service, which focused on use over the conservation of nature. To protect it from threats, a creed, titled Statement of National Park Policy, May 13, 1918, from Franklin K. Lane to Mr. Stephen T. Mather, printed in the 1918 annual report of the NPS, provided the ideological guidelines to which the National Park Service could aspire.[17]
Despite the issuance of the creed and the years of diligent work, the National Park Service faced immense opposition when it sought control of the Grand Canyon. Stock growers wanted unlimited grazing rights. Other groups were interested in damming the Colorado River. The Forest Service was interested in controlling the land. A 1917 bill to create the Grand Canyon National Park failed to pass.[18] On May 16, 1918, the Senate passed a bill for the creation of the Grand Canyon National Park. It was signed into law on February 26, 1919.
The tireless efforts of the early national park crusaders continue to benefit the nation. The lands that became national parks and monuments offer recreation to the public who can enjoy areas untouched by commercialization and the expanding building markets. The areas provide refuge for wildlife with dwindling habitats.
Notes:
[1] John Ise, Our National Park Policy: A Critical History (Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 1961), 13-15.
[2] Richard West Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), 7.
[3] Ise, Our National Park Policy, 17.
[4] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 19-21.
[5] Ibid., 11.
[6] Ney C. Landrum, The State Park Movement in America: A Critical Review (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004), 74-75.
[7] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 13.
[8] Landrum, The State Park Movement in America, 8-10.
[9] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 7.
[10] Dwight F. Rettie, Our National Park System: Caring for America’s Greatest Natural and Historic Treasures (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995), 13.
[11] Horace Albright and Marian Albright Schenck, Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), 35-41.
[12] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 31-2.
[13] Ibid., 28-31.
[14] Albright and Albright Schenck, Creating the National Park Service, 125-148.
[15] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 29.
[16] Ibid., 210.
[17] Ibid., 222-275.
[18] Ibid., 267-268.
[1] John Ise, Our National Park Policy: A Critical History (Baltimore: The John Hopkins Press, 1961), 13-15.
[2] Richard West Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks: A History (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1997), 7.
[3] Ise, Our National Park Policy, 17.
[4] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 19-21.
[5] Ibid., 11.
[6] Ney C. Landrum, The State Park Movement in America: A Critical Review (Columbia: University of Missouri Press, 2004), 74-75.
[7] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 13.
[8] Landrum, The State Park Movement in America, 8-10.
[9] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 7.
[10] Dwight F. Rettie, Our National Park System: Caring for America’s Greatest Natural and Historic Treasures (Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 1995), 13.
[11] Horace Albright and Marian Albright Schenck, Creating the National Park Service: The Missing Years (Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1999), 35-41.
[12] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 31-2.
[13] Ibid., 28-31.
[14] Albright and Albright Schenck, Creating the National Park Service, 125-148.
[15] Sellars, Preserving Nature in the National Parks, 29.
[16] Ibid., 210.
[17] Ibid., 222-275.
[18] Ibid., 267-268.