
On Aug. 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act, which created the National Park Service (NPS), a federal bureau within the Department of the Interior designated to protect and maintain the 35 national parks and monuments under the supervision of the department at the time. Today, there are 408 national parks covering more than 84 million acres of land across the U.S. To commemorate the day, the National Parks will be offering free admission to each of the 408 parks.
[insert_gallery]
"The National Park Service's 99th birthday is an opportunity to reflect on and celebrate the role of national parks in the American story," said National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis. "And it's also a time to look ahead to our centennial year, and the next 100 years. These national treasures belong to all of us, and we want everyone—especially the next generation of park visitors, supporters and advocates to discover and connect with their national parks."
Earlier this year, the NPS kicked off the Find Your Park campaign, a social media and marketing movement to connect the parks to the millions of Americans that don’t know about them or have yet to visit one of their national parks. The largest advertising campaign in national parks history utilizes technology to encourage Americans to engage and interact with their local national parks, leading them to discover and explore even more.
#19 Stand on a mountaintop - #FindYourPark from the top of Mount Dana at 13,053 feet! http://t.co/qGFTruIyQK pic.twitter.com/D64AxBl3Iy
— Yosemite National Pk (@YosemiteNPS) August 20, 2015
The NPS is also relying on corporate sponsors to assist with promotion. Brand USA, established by the 2009 Travel Promotion Act to improve declining international tourism to the U.S., is partnering with Expedia and MacGillivray Freeman Films to produce a Giant Screen Film about the national parks, “National Parks Adventure.”
The film, narrated by Robert Redford, is slated for release in February 2016, coinciding with the centennial year of the National Park Service. The film showcases over thirty national parks and will be shown in many of the 800 IMAX theatres located in sixty countries around the world.
“The International tourism industry provides thousands of jobs for Americans. The national parks are a great asset in showcasing the variety of tourism opportunities to foreign, as well as domestic, tourists,” says Brand USA SVP of Global Partner Marketing, Tom Garzilli. “We want people to visit America more often and stay for longer periods. We hope to generate audiences of 8-10 million people for this film in order to share the inspiring story of America’s national parks.”
Happy 99th birthday, @NatlParkService! Woohoo! Party! pic.twitter.com/LyOE95dcgy
— Sierra Club (@sierraclub) August 25, 2015
The film also chronicles the camping trip, which set the foundation for the establishment of the National Park Service. From May 15 to May 18, 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited John Muir, widely regarded as the father of the national parks, in Yosemite. Muir pleaded to Roosevelt to set aside Yosemite and other lands for the establishment of parks to preserve these pristine wildernesses. Roosevelt obliged and during his presidency set aside five national parks, 18 national monuments, 55 national bird sanctuaries and wildlife refuges, and 150 national forests.
Roosevelt said of Yosemite, "There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of the giant sequoias ... our people should see to it that they are preserved for their children and their Children's children forever, with their majestic beauty all unmarred."
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Giant Panda Gives Birth to Twins at National Zoo
Two New Major Studies Link Pesticides to Decline of Honeybees
30 Whales Have Died Off the Coast of Alaska and No One Knows Why
New EarthX Special 'Protecting the Amazon' Suggests Ways to Save the World’s Greatest Rainforest
To save the planet, we must save the Amazon rainforest. To save the rainforest, we must save its indigenous peoples. And to do that, we must demarcate their land.
A new EarthxTV film special calls for the protection of the Amazon rainforest and the indigenous people that call it home. EarthxTV.org
- Meet the 'Women Warriors' Protecting the Amazon Forest - EcoWatch ›
- Indigenous Tribes Are Using Drones to Protect the Amazon ... ›
- Amazon Rainforest Will Collapse by 2064, New Study Predicts ... ›
- Deforestation in Amazon Skyrockets to 12-Year High Under Bolsonaro ›
- Amazon Rainforest on the Brink of Turning Into a Net Carbon Emitter ... ›
EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
By Anke Rasper
"Today's interim report from the UNFCCC is a red alert for our planet," said UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
The report, released Friday, looks at the national climate efforts of 75 states that have already submitted their updated "nationally determined contributions," or NDCs. The countries included in the report are responsible for about 30% of the world's global greenhouse gas emissions.
- World Leaders Fall Short of Meeting Paris Agreement Goal - EcoWatch ›
- UN Climate Change Conference COP26 Delayed to November ... ›
- 5 Years After Paris: How Countries' Climate Policies Match up to ... ›
- Biden Win Puts World 'Within Striking Distance' of 1.5 C Paris Goal ... ›
- Biden Reaffirms Commitment to Rejoining Paris Agreement ... ›
Trending
Plastic Burning Makes It Harder for New Delhi Residents to See, Study Suggests
India's New Delhi has been called the "world air pollution capital" for its high concentrations of particulate matter that make it harder for its residents to breathe and see. But one thing has puzzled scientists, according to The Guardian. Why does New Delhi see more blinding smogs than other polluted Asian cities, such as Beijing?
- This Indian Startup Turns Polluted Air Into Climate-Friendly Tiles ... ›
- How to Win the Fight Against Plastic - EcoWatch ›
In a historic move, the Delaware River Basin Commission (DRBC) voted Thursday to ban hydraulic fracking in the region. The ban was supported by all four basin states — New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New York — putting a permanent end to hydraulic fracking for natural gas along the 13,539-square-mile basin, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported.
- Appalachian Fracking Boom Was a Jobs Bust, Finds New Report ... ›
- Long-Awaited EPA Study Says Fracking Pollutes Drinking Water ... ›
- Pennsylvania Fracking Water Contamination Much Higher Than ... ›
Colombia is one of the world's largest producers of coffee, and yet also one of the most economically disadvantaged. According to research by the national statistic center DANE, 35% of the population in Columbia lives in monetary poverty, compared to an estimated 11% in the U.S., according to census data. This has led to a housing insecurity issue throughout the country, one which construction company Woodpecker is working hard to solve.
- Kenyan Engineer Recycles Plastic Into Bricks Stronger Than ... ›
- Could IKEA's New Tiny House Help Fight the Climate Crisis ... ›