The National Park Service is commemorating its 100th anniversary, and Congaree National Park is celebrating. And some in Congress are pushing to sell or transfer our parks to the highest bidder, and prevent new parks from being created. In celebration of the 100th birthday of the National Park Service in 2016, we are launching a movement to spread the word about the incredible places we manage, the inspirational stories that the national parks tell, our country’s natural resources, and our diverse cultural heritage.
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What else is included in the park service system?
Grand Canyon National Park intern Mi-Kal White looks waits for visitors to approach him for assistance on July 26, 2016. The smallest is the 0.2 acres of the Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial in Pennsylvania.
Mount Rainier National Park, having opened in March 1899, has a longer history than the Park Service and is the fifth-oldest park in the national system.
Today, there are 59 national parks, in addition to 50 National Historical Parks, 79 National Monuments, 20 National Preserves, 10 National Seashores, and so many more designated protect areas throughout the country. “These magnificent places belong to all Americans and we invite everyone, especially our newest citizens, to Find Your Park“. Memorial and the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National Monument. “That’s one of reasons why the National Parks Service is pushing so hard with the centennial”, he said, adding that the Service’s ‘Find Your Park’ initiative also aims to inspire young people and their families. Annually, almost 10 million people have visited the hundreds of national parks and historic sites across the country.
The existing parks must manage more tourists – and their cars. They now live in nine different national park units. “The fact of the matter is that too many of my colleagues are unwilling to provide the kind of support the park service needs and deserves”. Maintenance not done when needed will be much more expensive to take care of after years of neglect. In 2014, NPS parks in Texas raked in 238.9 million. Some parks such as Yellowstone, Yosemite and Great Smoky Mountains are overrun with visitors wanting to experience their beauty and wildlife.
Despite their record-breaking crowds and economic benefits, our parks have never been more challenged. And the Park Service doesn’t have sufficient resources to handle that traffic, according to Rob Smith, northwest regional director of the National Parks Conservation Association, a nonpartisan advocacy organization.
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It’s enough bad news that some park officials probably wish that they’d planned a low-key event at some remote park in, say, South Dakota, rather than the yearlong media-saturated, Subaru-sponsored celebration that is keeping the agency in the public eye. Shame on them. They need to visit the Lincoln and Martin Luther King Jr.
