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Feature

100 Years:National Park Service Celebration

                                           By Lee McCracken, Contributing Writer

“Everybody needs beauty ... places to play in and pray in where nature may heal and cheer
                and give strength to the body and soul alike.” – John Muir, 1911

T he U.S. Congress, establishing Yellowstone National                         Today, the National Park Service (nps.gov) comprises more than 400 areas
              Park in March 1872 within the territories of Montana          and covers more than 84 million acres in 50 states, the District of Columbia,
              and Wyoming, began a worldwide movement for green             American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan and the Virgin Islands. More
              spaces to be set aside and preserved as public parks or       than 300 million people visited the parks and monuments in 2015.

“pleasuring-grounds” for the benefit and enjoyment of people. On            While the Grand Canyon (No. 2) and Yellowstone (No. 5) may be

August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act creating the the first to come to mind, the Great Smokey Mountains National Park

National Park Service (NPS) as a federal bureau in the Department of the ranked as the No.1 most-popular recreation area in 2015, with more

Interior. At the time, there were 35 national parks and monuments.          than 10 million visitors. And, the Blue Ridge Parkway was the most-

Botanist and avid hiker John Muir, who was born in Scotland but came visited area with 15 million visitors. The southeastern region of the

to Wisconsin in 1849 with his family, is said to have spurred the concept United States is home to seven National Parks, each protecting unique

of the NPS. He once walked from Indiana to Florida, and then after sailing  wildernesses and marine ecosystems.  GET IN FREE
to California, walked from San Francisco to the Sierra Nevada, where          The Centennial celebration
he worked as a sheepherder. Then he moved to the Yosemite Valley and
finally Oakland, where he began to write.                                   features a Commemorative
                                                                            Coin Program, which

Muir’s writings brought national attention to more places that eventually includes a $5 gold coin, a

                             became national parks. His three-night         silver dollar, and 50-cent            This year, 16 days are fee-free days in the
                                                                            coin. In addition, the             national parks. Whether you are staying close to
HIGH ADVENTURE camping trip with President                                  U.S. Postal Service has            home or traveling, you can visit the mountains or
                                          Theodore Roosevelt in 1903        issued 16 new Forever
                                              became known as the most      stamps featuring                          coast on these remaining days:
                                                 significant camping trip
                                                          in conservation history. several national parks.
In Charlotte, the IMAX Theater at        ON THE BIG SCREEN                                                       August 25-28: National Park Service
Discovery Place is now showing“National                            Simon Ward, MD, says his favorite spot is            BirthdayWeekend
Parks Adventure,”narrated by Academy                              Zion National Park in Utah. Whether driving
Award-winner Robert Redford. The                                                                               September 24: National Public Lands Day
cinematography takes viewers soaring over                            or walking, the towering sandstone             November 11: Veterans Day
                                                                    mountains above the valley strike awe.
red rock canyons, hurtling up craggy
mountain peaks and into other legendary                     “For the biggest rush, short of skydiving,
                                                              the Angels Landing trail is the best.”
outdoor playgrounds, including
Yellowstone, Glacier National Park,

Yosemite, the Everglades and Arches.

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