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A National Monument, Memorial, Park .
. . What's the Difference? |
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Introduction
Nomenclature
of Park Areas
Natural
Wonders—Common Trust
Preserving
Our History
Parks
in the Nation's Capital
Recreation
for the Body and Mind
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Designation
of Wilderness Areas
Related
Areas
Affiliated
Areas
Wild
and Scenic Rivers System
National
Trails System
Related
Links
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Introduction: National Park System |
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In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson signed the Act creating the National
Park Service, a new Federal bureau in the Department
of the Interior responsible for protecting the 40 national
parks and monuments then in existence and those yet to be established.
This "Organic
Act" of August 25, 1916, states that "the Service thus established
shall promote and regulate the use of Federal areas known as
national parks, monuments and reservations . . . to conserve
the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild
life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in
such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for
the enjoyment of future generations."
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Yosemite National
Park, California
Credit: National
Park Service |
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The National Park Service still strives to meet those original
goals, while filling many other roles as well: guardian of our
diverse cultural and recreational resources; environmental advocate;
world leader in the parks and preservation community; and pioneer
in the drive to protect America's open space.
The National Park System of the United States comprises 388 areas
covering more than 80 million acres in every State, the District
of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, The Northern Mariana
Islands, and the Virgin Islands. These areas are of such national
significance as to justify special recognition and protection in
accordance with various Acts of Congress.
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Virgin Islands
National Park, Virgin Islands
Credit: National
Park Service |
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By Act
of March 1, 1872, Congress established Yellowstone National
Park in the Territories of Montana and Wyoming "as a public park
or pleasuring ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people" and
placed it "under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior." The
founding of Yellowstone National Park began a worldwide national
park movement. Today more than 100 nations contain some 1,200
national parks or equivalent preserves.
In the years following the establishment of Yellowstone, the United
States authorized additional national parks and monuments, most
of them carved from the Federal lands of the West. These, also,
were administered by the Department of the Interior, while other
monuments and natural and historical areas were administered as
separate units by the War Department and the Forest
Service of the Department
of Agriculture. No single agency provided unified management
of the varied Federal parklands.
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Yellowstone
National Park, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming
Credit: National
Park Service |
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An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 63 national monuments and
military sites from the Forest
Service and the War Department to the National Park Service.
This action was a major
step in the development of today's truly national system of
parks—a system that includes areas of historical as well as scenic
and scientific importance.
Congress declared in the General
Authorities Act of 1970 "that the National Park System, which
began with the establishment of Yellowstone National Park in
1872, has since grown to include superlative natural, historic,
and recreation areas in every region . . . and that it is the
purpose of this Act to include all such areas in the System.
. . ."
Additions to the National Park System are now generally made through
Acts of Congress, and national parks can be created only through
such Acts. But the President has authority, under the Antiquities
Act of 1906, to proclaim national
monuments on lands already under Federal jurisdiction. The Secretary
of the Interior is usually asked by Congress for other recommendations
on proposed additions to the System. The Secretary is counseled
by the National
Park System Advisory Board, composed of private citizens, which
advises the Secretary on possible additions to the System and policies
for its management.
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Longfellow National
Historic Site, Massachusetts
Credit: National
Park Service |
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Nomenclature of Park System Areas |
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The diversity of the parks is reflected in the variety of titles
given to them. These include such designations as national park,
national preserve, national monument, national memorial, national
historic site, national seashore, and national battlefield park.
Although some titles are self-explanatory, others have been used
in many different ways. For example, the title "national monument" has
been given to great natural reservations, historic military fortifications,
prehistoric ruins, fossil sites, and to the Statue of Liberty.
In recent years, Congress and the National Park Service have attempted,
with some success, to simplify the nomenclature and to establish
basic criteria for use of the different official titles. Brief
definitions of the most common titles follow.
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Natural Wonders Held in Common Trust |
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Areas added to the National Park System for their natural values
are expanses or features of land or water of great scenic and scientific
quality and are usually designated as national parks, monuments,
preserves, seashores, lakeshores, or riverways. Such areas contain
one or more distinctive attributes such as forest, grassland, tundra,
desert, estuary, or river systems; they may contain "windows" on
the past for a view of geological history, imposing landforms such
as mountains, mesas, thermal areas, and caverns, and they may be
habitats of abundant or rare wildlife and plantlife.
Generally, a national park contains a variety
of resources and encompasses large land or water areas to help
provide adequate protection of the resources. Hunting, mining and
consumptive activities like logging and grazing are not authorized.
A national monument is intended to preserve
at least one nationally significant resource. It is usually smaller
than a national park and lacks its diversity of attractions. As
directed by the Secretary of the Interior, many national
monuments established in recent years are managed by the Bureau
of Land Management. The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorized
the President to declare by public proclamation landmarks, structures,
and other objects of historic or scientific interest situated on
lands owned or controlled by the government to be national monuments.
In 1974, Big Cypress and Big Thicket were authorized as the first national
preserves. This category is established primarily for
the protection of certain resources. Activities such as hunting
and fishing or the extraction of minerals and fuels may be permitted
if they do not jeopardize the natural values. Many existing national
preserves, without sport hunting, would qualify for national
park designation. National reserves are similar
to the preserves. Management, however, is by local or State authorities.
The first reserve, City of Rocks, was established in 1988.
Apostle
Islands National Lakeshore, Wisconsin
Credit: National
Park ServicePreserving shoreline areas and off-shore
islands, the national
lakeshores and national seashores focus
on the preservation of natural values while at the same time
providing water-oriented recreation. Some of these areas are
developed while others are relatively primitive. Hunting is allowed
at many of these sites. Although national lakeshores can be established
on any natural freshwater lake, the existing four are all located
on the Great Lakes. The national seashores are on the Atlantic,
Gulf, and Pacific coasts.
National rivers and wild and scenic
riverways preserve ribbons of land bordering on free-flowing
streams which have not been dammed, channelized, or otherwise
altered by man. Besides preserving rivers in their natural state,
these areas provide opportunities for outdoor activities such
as hiking, canoeing, and hunting. More information can
be found towards the end of this article.
National scenic trails, are generally long-distance
footpaths winding through areas of natural beauty. More
information can be found at the end of this article.
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Preserving Our History |
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Gila
Cliff Dwellings National Monument, New Mexico
Credit: National
Park Service |
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Although
best known for its great scenic parks, more than half the areas
of the National Park System preserve places and commemorate persons,
events, and activities important in the Nation's history. These
range from archeological sites associated with prehistoric Indian
civilizations to sites related to the lives of modern Americans.
Historical areas are customarily preserved or restored to reflect
their appearance during the period of their greatest historical
significance. In recent years, national historic site has been the
title most commonly applied by Congress in authorizing the addition
of such areas to the National Park System. |
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Little
Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, Montana
Credit: National
Park ServiceUsually, a national historic
site contains a
single historical feature that was directly associated with its
subject. Derived from the Historic Sites Act of 1935, a number
of historic sites were established by secretaries of the Interior,
but most have been authorized by Acts of Congress. National
historical parks are commonly areas of greater physical
extent and complexity than national historic sites. The only international
historic site, Saint Croix Island, is a site relevant
to both U.S. and Canadian history.
Various titles—national
military park, national
battlefield park, national
battlefield site, and national
battlefield—have been used for areas associated
with American military history. In 1958, a National Park Service
committee recommended national
battlefield as the single title for all such park
lands. But other areas such as national monuments and national
historical parks may include features associated with military
history.
There are presently 14 national cemeteries in
the National Park System.
The title national memorial is most often used
for areas that are primarily commemorative. But they need not be
sites or structures historically associated with their subjects.
For example, the home of Abraham Lincoln in Springfield, Illinois,
is a national historic site, but the Lincoln Memorial in the District
of Columbia is a national memorial.
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Vietnam
Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
Credit: National
Park Service |
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Several areas administered by National Capital Region whose titles
do not include the words national memorial are nevertheless classified
as memorials. These are the Lincoln
Memorial, Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac,
Theodore Roosevelt Island, Thomas Jefferson Memorial, and the Washington
Monument. All are in the District of Columbia.
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Parks in the Nation's Capital |
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As the Nation's Capital, Washington, D.C., has a unique park system.
Most of the public parks are administered by the Federal Government
through the National Capital Region of the National Park Service.
National Capital Region has inherited duties originally assigned
to three Federal Commissioners appointed by President George Washington
in 1790. The city's parks were administered by a variety of Federal
agencies until this responsibility was assigned to the National
Park Service under the Reorganization Act of 1933. Most parklands
in the city are included in the Federal holdings, although the
District of Columbia also operates parks, playgrounds, and recreational
facilities. National Capital Region also administers several National
Park System units in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia.
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Recreation for the Body and the Mind |
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Lake
Roosevelt National Recreation Area, Washington
Credit: National
Park ServiceOriginally, national recreation
areas in the
Park System were units surrounding reservoirs impounded by dams
built by other Federal agencies. The National Park Service manages
many of these 12 areas under cooperative agreements. These areas
primarily emphasize water-based recreation. The concept of recreational
areas has grown to encompass other lands and waters set aside for
recreational use by Acts of Congress and now includes 5 major areas
in urban centers. Such urban parks combine scarce open spaces with
the preservation of significant historic resources and important
natural areas in locations that can provide outdoor recreation
for large numbers of people. There are also national recreation
areas outside the National Park System that are administered by
the Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
National parkways encompass the roads and the
ribbons of land flanking the roadways. Providing the opportunity
for leisurely driving through areas of scenic interest, these protected
corridors often connect cultural sites. They are not designed for
high speed travel. Besides the areas set aside as parkways, other
units of the National Park System include parkways within their
boundaries.
One area of the National Park System, Wolf Trap National Park
for the Performing Arts, Virginia, has been set aside as America's
first national park for the performing
arts.
Two
historical areas, Ford's Theatre National Historic Site, D.C.,
and Chamizal National Memorial, Texas, also provide facilities
for the performing arts.
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Designation of Wilderness Areas |
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In the Wilderness
Act of 1964, Congress directed three Federal agencies, including
the National Park Service, to study certain lands within their
jurisdiction to determine the suitability of these lands for
inclusion in the National
Wilderness Preservation System.
Shenandoah
National Park, Virginia
Credit: National
Park ServiceBy subsequent legislation, Congress has designated wilderness
areas in many units of the National Park System. This
designation does not remove wilderness lands from the parks,
but it does ensure that they will be managed to retain their "primeval
character and influence, without permanent improvements or human
habitation. . . ."
The Act provides, generally, that "there shall be no commercial
enterprise and no permanent road within any wilderness area . .
. and (except for emergency uses) no temporary road, no use of
motor vehicles, motorized equipment or motorboats, no landing of
aircraft, no other form of mechanical transport, and no structure
or installation." Wilderness areas are open to hiking and, in some
cases, horseback riding, primitive camping, and similar pursuits.
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Related Areas |
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Besides the National Park System three groups of areas exist—Affiliated
Areas, the Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and the National Trails
System—that are closely linked in importance and purpose to those
areas managed by the National Park Service. Except for those wild
and scenic rivers administered by the National Park Service, these
areas are not units of the National Park System, yet they preserve
important segments of the Nation's heritage.
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Kitchen, Levine Apartment
Credit: Lower
East Side Tenement Museum, National Park Service Affiliated
Area, New York |
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Affiliated Areas |
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In an Act of August 18, 1970, the National Park System was defined
in law as "any area of land and water now or hereafter administered
by the Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service
for park, monument, historic, parkway, recreational or other purposes." The
same law specifically excludes "miscellaneous areas administered
in connection therewith," that is, those properties that are neither
Federally owned nor directly administered by the National Park
Service but which utilize its assistance.
The Affiliated Areas comprise a variety of locations
in the United States and Canada that preserve significant properties
outside the National Park System. Some of these have been recognized
by Acts of Congress, others have been designated national historic
sites by the Secretary of the Interior under authority of the Historic
Sites Act of 1935. All draw on technical or financial aid from
the National Park Service.
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Wild and Scenic Rivers System |
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Public Law 90-542, of October 2, 1968, provides for the establishment
of a system of rivers to be preserved as free-flowing streams accessible
for public use and enjoyment. Components of the system, or portions
of component rivers, may be designated as wild, scenic, or recreational
rivers. Rivers are classified according to the natural qualities
they possess and the evidence, as viewed from the river, of man's
presence in the area. Thus, in a wild river there is little evidence
of man's presence, the river is free of impoundments (dams), and
it is generally inaccessible except by trail. A scenic river is
one with relatively primitive shorelines, largely undeveloped,
but accessible in places by road. A recreational river has more
development, is accessible by road or railroad, and may have been
dammed.
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Ozark National
Scenic Riverways, Missouri
Credit: National
Park Service |
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Once a river area is designated a component of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers System, the objective of the managing agency—local,
State, or Federal—is to preserve or enhance the qualities which
qualified the river for inclusion within the system. Recreational
use must be compatible with preservation. Rivers administered by
the National Park Service are units of the National Park System.
Those administered by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service are components of the National
Wildlife Refuge System.
State rivers and streams may become units of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers System when established under state laws and developed with
river management plans acceptable to the Secretary of the Interior.
The Secretary may then designate the appropriate river area as
a unit of the system. Federally managed components of the system
are designated by Acts of Congress. Usually, Congress first requires,
by law, a detailed study to determine the qualification of a river
area for the system and then makes the decision.
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National Trails System |
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The National Trails System Act of 1968, as amended, calls for
establishing trails in both urban and rural settings for persons
of all ages, interests, skills, and physical abilities. The Act
promotes the enjoyment and appreciation of trails while encouraging
greater public access. It establishes four classes of trails: national
scenic trails, national historic trails, national recreation trails,
and side and connecting trails.
North
Country National Scenic Trail, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio,
Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota
Credit: North
Country Trail AssociationNational scenic trails are to be continuous,
extended routes of outdoor recreation within protected corridors.
The first two established under the National Trails System Act
were the Appalachian and Pacific Crest trails. They wind through
some of the Nation's most striking natural beauty. National historic
trails recognize past routes of exploration, migration, and military
action.
The term national recreation trail is given
to an existing trail by the Federal Government, upon application,
in recognition of its role as a component of the National Trails
System. Today more than 780 of these trails have been designated
throughout the country. They are located in every State, the District
of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, totaling more than 9,000 miles in
length. There are 513 trails on Federal lands. For the other trails
in the system, 147 are State trails, 82 are local, 31 are on
private lands, and 12 are managed by two or more entities.
Side and connecting trails provide additional
access to and between components of the National Trails System.
To date, two have been designated.
Since 1963, 33 long-distance trails have been studied for inclusion
in the system, and 24 have been designated. The National Park Service
administers 17 of them, the Bureau of Land Management administers
one (together they jointly administer 2), and the Forest Service
administers four.
The National Trails System is administered by the National Park
Service, U.S. Department of the Interior. The National Park Service
encourages other public and private agencies to develop, maintain,
and protect trails. With the cooperation and support of a nationwide
trails community, the vision of an interconnected, crosscountry
trail system will become a reality.
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Voyageurs National
Park, Minnesota
Credit: National
Park Service |
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Related Links |
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Adapted from National Park Service, 1991, The National Parks:
Index 1991. Produced by the Office of Public Affairs and the Division
of Publications. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of the Interior,
and National Park Service, March 28, 2000: Designation
of National Park System Units
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