NHD Theme Book 2016 | Page 33

EXPLORATION, ENCOUNTER, EXCHANGE IN HISTORY To Provide for the Enjoyment for Future Generations I The First 100 Years of the National Park Service Linda Rosenblum, Katherine Orr, and Nicholas R. Murray, National Park Service n 2016, the National Park Service will be celebrating its 100th birthday. On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act creating the National Park Service, a federal bureau in the Department of the Interior. This act states, “the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as national 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.”1 To commemorate that milestone, the National Park Service is planning its Centennial, with a goal of connecting with and creating the next generation of park visitors, supporters, and advocates. The National History Day theme for 2016, Exploration, Encounter, Exchange in History, provides a unique opportunity for students and teachers to engage in the many stories and primary resources preserved by the National Park Service and join in the Centennial commemoration. The history of the National Park Service actually begins before the Organic Act of 1916. As early as the 1830s, concern arose Stephen T. Mather, the first Director of the National Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, 1923 National Park Service Historic Photograph Collection/George A. Grant over the settlement of the western territories and the impact of westward expansion on wilderness, wildlife, and Native American populations. Native American portrait artist George Catlin noted during a trip to the Dakotas that “some great protecting policy of government…in a magnificent park…a nation’s park” could preserve the wilderness and resources. In 1864, Congress bequeathed the Yosemite Valley to the state of California, to be preserved as a state park. Although Yosemite was recognized by Congress as a national treasure worthy of preservation, it was not until 1872 that the region was delegated to the U.S. Department of Interior, to be designated as the world’s first national park. Because the department had no central agency to administer the park, Army troops were detailed to provide protection, enforce hunting and grazing laws, and assist with the visiting public. “Organic Act of 1916,” National Park Service, accessed January 23, 2015, www.nps.gov/grba/parkmgmt/organic-act-of-1916.htm. “American Antiquities Act of 1906,” National Park Service, accessed January 23, 2015, www.cr.nps.gov/local-law/anti1906.htm. 1 31