Today, August 25, 2016, the United States National Park Service celebrates its 100th anniversary. It’s a crowning achievement for the federal service that exists to provide visitors the opportunity to experience the country’s natural beauty.
On March 1, 1872, the United States Congress established Yellowstone National Park in the Montana and Wyoming Territories. Placed under the supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, it was the first official national park in the world. The establishment of Yellowstone National Park sparked a rise in national parks worldwide. Today, more than 100 nations feature nearly 1,200 national parks.
On August 25, 1916, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson signed an act that created the National Park Service. It was a new federal bureau of the Department of the Interior whose specific purpose was to be responsible for protecting the nation’s 35 national parks and monuments. Today, the United States National Park System consists of more than 400 areas that cover more than 84 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands.
On June 10, 1933, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued an executive order that transferred 56 national monuments and military sites from the Forest Service and the War Department to the National Park Service. While the Antiquities Act of 1906 gives the president the authority to proclaim national monuments on lands under federal jurisdiction, additions to the National Park System are made exclusively by acts of Congress. Usually, Congress will ask for recommendations on potential additions to the system by the Secretary of the Interior.
RELM Wireless wants to congratulate the National Park Service on their centennial anniversary. For the last 100 years, this federal bureau has been displaying the natural beauty of the United States and RELM Wireless recognizes them as a tremendous asset to the country. So congratulations National Park Service, and we look forward to the next 100 years.