Mesa Verde, Colorado
Theodore Roosevelt is known for being
called “the conservation president.” His
works impacted the National Park Service and its entire system, and America
as a whole. As President from 1901 to
1909, he established five new national
parks: Crater Lake, Oregon; Wind Cave,
South Dakota; Sully's Hill, North Dakota; Mesa Verde, Colorado; and Platt,
Oklahoma. He also doubled the number of sites protected, adding new monuments and landmarks to the list.
Moreover, Roosevelt brought to the table, The Antiquities Act of June 8, 1906.
The Antiquities Act gave President
Roosevelt, as well as future presidents,
the ability to “proclaim historic landmarks, historic or prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or
scientific interest in federal ownership
as national monuments.” With that, his
list grew more and more. Roosevelt was
determined to preserve as much of the
country as he could, so that generations
after him would be able to enjoy the
wilderness as much as he did.
Likewise, Roosevelt worked with Albright to move the responsibility of
protecting the Civil War sites from
the War Department to the National Park Service. This meant that the
National Park Service was now going
to be responsible for the lands, parks,
monuments, grounds, and anything
else pertaining to the preservation of
American history.
18 Summer 2016 Adventure Outdoors
With Roosevelt behind this as well,
not only was the wilderness going to
be preserved, but the richness of the
American heritage would be protected, giving everyone the opportunity
to experience the beauty of the United States, inside and out. Of course, a
handful of these monuments would
have probably remained protected
through the War Department, but
the fact that the monuments and battlefields were now the National Park
Service’s responsibility, meant that the
entirety of the historical contents of
the country would be managed under
one hand. This would result in a much
more fluid plan for preservation, both
of the lands and of the social values
within them.
The resources that are still maintained
by the National Park Service today, are
some of the most culturally influential and diverse communities that our
country has. Along with maintaining
the preservation of the country’s natural environments and the beautiful
lands we get to call home, the National
Park Service strives to be the “guardian
of America’s open spaces.”
Roosevelt’s legendary movements are
still remembered and commemorated at various parks and sites, including: Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace
National Historic Site, Sagamore Hill
National Historic Site, Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic
Site, Theodore Roosevelt National
Park, and Theodore Roosevelt Island.
Roosevelt is also one of the four Presidents honored at Mt. Rushmore National Memorial in South Dakota.
The original “Teddy Bear”
was named after Roosevelt
due to a hunting trip in
which Roosevelt refused
to shoot a bear. It wasn’t
a fair shot, being that the
bear was tied to a tree. Roosevelt always maintained
and upheld the aspects of
preservation and the protection of various species.
Theodore Roosevelt was an
inspiration to many, and a
renowned conservationist.
His works and movements, even up
through his presidency, rang true to
the creation and jurisdiction of the National Park Service.
Today, the National Park Service carries on the same traditions, and protects more American wilderness than
was ever predicted. War sites, memorials, and monuments continue to
maintain their importance because of
the laws and facilities that
the National Park
Service oversees.