Category: National Parks

was proclaimed a national monument by President Herbert Hoover on this date in 1933.

At the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert lies a mountain ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is one of the world’s great natural wonders – the glistening white sands of New Mexico.

Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world’s largest gypsum dune field. The brilliant white dunes are ever changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Slowly but relentlessly the sand, driven by strong southwest winds, covers everything in its path.

The National Parks Conservation Association today named 10 parks particularly threatened by air pollution, development, insufficient funding and Administration policies.

Parks on this year’s list, in alphabetical order with their biggest threats, are:

• Big Thicket National Preserve (Texas): Sale of private lands and increased efforts to drill for oil and gas could fragment and destroy wildlife habitat by promoting haphazard development along park borders; dam proposals could alter much of the preserve’s unique wildlife habitat;
• Biscayne National Park (Florida): Important fish and coral populations are threatened by overfishing, destructive use, and pollution; sensitive coastline slated for wetlands restoration is being developed, impeding the restoration of the fresh water flows necessary to restore the estuary;
• Everglades National Park (Florida): Failure to emphasize ecological recovery in the restoration plan guidelines, a lack of action to acquire a critical portion of wetland, and insufficient funding threaten this park;
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina/Tennessee): Pollution from coal-fired power plants threatens the health of park visitors, plants, and wildlife and diminishes scenic views; administration rollbacks of clean-air protections compounds threats;
• Joshua Tree National Park (California): Development along park borders threatens to fragment critical wildlife corridors, degrade already poor air quality, and deplete critical aquifers;
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument (Arizona): Insufficient funding leaves the Park Service unable to address extensive damage to the border park’s extraordinary array of Sonoran Desert plants and wildlife;
• Shenandoah National Park (Virginia): Pollution endangers plants, animals, and scenic vistas; non-native invasive plants and insects damage native vegetation, and insufficient funding undermines the park;
• Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program (26 states and Washington, D.C.): Without adequate funding, the program is losing the opportunity and ability to create a comprehensive collection of sites, stories, and artifacts, depriving future generations of perhaps the best illustrations of an important aspect of American history;
• Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve (Alaska): Irresponsible ATV use is scarring the park; a harmful administration policy could allow more than 1,700 miles of proposed roads through the park; and
• Yellowstone National Park (Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming): Ongoing pressure to continue snowmobile use that Park Service studies have determined threatens the health and enjoyment of visitors and staff, diminishes air quality, and jeopardizes wildlife; inadequate funding for day-to-day needs cripples Park Service capabilities; and the park’s iconic bison are harassed by snowmobiles and killed by Montana officials when the animals wander off parklands in search of food.

was first designated for preservation on this date in 1908 when President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area a national monument. It was designated a national park in 1919.

NewMexiKen photo, 1995

was designated under the Bureau of Land Management on this date in 2000.

The Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument is under joint management of the BLM and the NPS [National Park Service]. Covering 1,054,264 acres of remote and unspoiled public lands, this monument is a scientific treasure, containing many of the same values that have long been protected in the Grand Canyon National Park. Deep canyons, mountains and lonely buttes testify to the power of geological forces and provide colorful vistas. Here Paleozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary rock layers are relatively undeformed and unobscured by vegetation, offering a clear view to understanding the geologic history of the Colorado Plateau. The monument encompasses the lower portion of the Shivwits Plateau, an important watershed for the Colorado River and the Grand Canyon. Beyond the phenomenal geological resources, the monument also contains countless biological and historical values.

was designated under the Bureau of Land Management on this date in 2000.

[T]he California Coastal National Monument runs the entire length of the California coast (840-miles) between Oregon and Mexico, extends 12 nautical miles from the shoreline, and encompasses thousands of BLM administered islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles above mean high tide.

Cooperatively managed with other federal, state, local government, universities, and private interests, the primary purpose of the Monument is to protect important biological and geological values. The islands, rocks, reefs, and pinnacles provide forage and breeding grounds for significant populations of birds and sea mammals.

was designated under the Bureau of Land Management on this date in 2000.

Adjacent to rapidly expanding communities, the 71,000-acre Agua Fria National Monument is approximately 40 miles north of central Phoenix. The monument encompasses two mesas and the canyon of the Agua Fria River. Elevations range from 2,150 feet above sea level along the Agua Fria Canyon to about 4,600 feet in the northern hills. This expansive mosaic of semi-desert area, cut by ribbons of valuable riparian forest, offers one of the most significant systems of prehistoric sites in the American Southwest. In addition to the rich record of human history, the monument contains outstanding biological resources.

was designated as such on this date in 1971. It had been a national monument since 1937.

[NewMexiKen photo, 2002]

was designated a national monument on this date in 1919. According to the National Park Service, “A prominent natural landmark for emigrants on the Oregon Trail, Scotts Bluff, Mitchell Pass and the adjacent prairie lands are set aside in a 3,000 acre national monument. This site preserves the memory of the historic Oregon, California and Mormon Trails.”

was established on this date in 1963.

Andrew Johnson National Historic Site honors the life and work of the nation’s 17th President and preserves his two homes, tailor shop, and grave site. Andrew Johnson’s life exemplifies many struggles faced by Americans today. He worked his way from tailor to President. He stood strong for his ideals and beliefs. His presidency, from 1865 – 1869, illustrates the United States Constitution at work following Lincoln’s assassination and during attempts to reunify a nation that had been torn by civil war. His work helped shape the future of the United States and his influences continue today.

was signed by President Bush on this date in 1991: “The Custer Battlefield National Monument in Montana shall, on and after the date of enactment of this Act, be known as the ‘Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument’…”

The Law also called for a monument at the battlefield “to honor the Indian participants in the battle.” That monument was dedicated on June 25, 2003, the 127th anniversary of the battle.

was designated a national park on this date in 1962. It had been named a national monument in 1906.

[NewMexiKen photo, 2003]

became law on this date in 1980, more than doubling the size of the national park system.

According to America’s National Park System: The Critical Documents edited by Lary M. Dilsaver:

In the waning days of the Carter Democratic administration, Congress acted to further protect and expand preserved areas in Alaska, many rescued from exploitation two years earlier by presidential proclamation. This complex and lengthy act defines preserved parks, forests, wilderness areas, wildlife refuges, wild and scenic rivers, and Native American corporation lands and the degrees of preservation and usage for each. It prescribes timber, fish, and wildlife protection and use by Native Americans and other citizens.

New areas for the national park system included Aniakchak National Preserve, Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Kenai Fjords National Park, Kobuk Valley National Park, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Noatak National Preserve, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. The act also added new lands to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Katmai National Monument and Preserve, and Denali National Park and Preserve (renamed from Mount McKinley National Park).

New wild and scenic rivers under Park Service administration included Alagnak, Alatna, Aniakchak, Charley, Chilikadrotna, John, Kobuk, Mulchatna, Noatak, North Fork of the Koyukuk, Salmon, Tinayguk, and Tlikakila rivers. Other wild and scenic rivers are designated or expanded in wildlife refuges and in other areas.

The vast majority of acreage in the Denali, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, Katmai, Kobuk Valley, Lake Clark, Noatak, and Wrangell-St. Elias units is designated wilderness.

President Jimmy Carter took abrupt and sweeping action to preserve 17 endangered areas of Alaska. Vastly increasing the national park system, Carter used the 1906 Antiquities Act to prevent exploitation while the Congress deliberated.

Admiralty Island National Monument
Aniakchak National Monument
Becharof National Monument
Bering Land Bridge National Monument
Cape Krusenstern National Monument
Denali National Monument
Gates of the Arctic National Monument
Enlarging the Glacier Bay National Monument
Enlarging the Katmai National Monument
Kenai Fjords National Monument
Kobuk Valley National Monument
Lake Clark National Monument
Misty Fiords National Monument
Noatak National Monument
Wrangell-St. Elias National Monument
Yukon-Charley National Monument
Yukon Flats National Monument

was designated on this date in 1990. The reservoir, at the confluence of the Rio Grande, Devils and Pecos rivers, was created by Amistad Dam in 1969.

was designated a national monument on this date in 1925.

was established on this date in 1919.

Driver Faces Charges

“The monument, a large granite sculpture of a color bearer and flag on a granite pedestal, was severely damaged, breaking into several pieces. Initial National Park Service estimates for the repair of the monument are between $15,000 and $20,000.

Veterans and survivors of the Battle of Gettysburg dedicated the monument in 1888.”

was designated a national monument on this date in 1988.

was designated a national monument in 1907.

was designated a national park on this date in 1971. It had been designated a national monument in 1929.

was designated a Natiional Historic Site on this date in 1996.

was designated a national park on this date in 1978. It had been designated a national memorial park in 1947.