National Parks

On December 26, 1935, Shenandoah National Park was officially established in Virginia. The park is most well-known for its 105-mile Skyline Drive.

Since 2013, National Bison Day has been held on the first Saturday in November, which falls on November 5, 2022. Once close to extinction, bison populations have recovered due to prolonged conservation efforts and in 2016, the bison was made America’s national mammal.

On October 23, 1972, President Richard Nixon signed legislation establishing the National Marine Sanctuary Program. This program protects and manages over 783,000 square miles of aquatic areas in and around the US.

On October 15, 1966, President Lyndon Johnson signed legislation establishing the Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula on the shore of Lake Superior. It was the first national lakeshore in the United States.

Howard Bertram Koslow was born on September 21, 1924, in Brooklyn, New York. Over the course of 40 years, Koslow produced artwork for more than 50 US stamps and postal cards, including the popular and long-running Lighthouse Series.

Decades after the first national park was created, the National Park Service (NPS) was officially established on August 25, 1916. The service has grown to include over 400 areas, covering over 84 million acres.

On August 18, 1978, War in the Pacific National Historical Park was established in Guam. The enabling legislation stated, “In order to commemorate the bravery and sacrifices of those participating in the campaigns of the Pacific theater of World War II and to conserve and interpret outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects on the island of Guam for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future generations, the War in the Pacific National Historical Park… is hereby established.”

On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Hawaii National Park – America’s 11th national park and the first established in a US territory. The name was later changed to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

On June 30, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Land Grant. This made Yosemite Valley the first piece of land set aside by the US government for preservation and public use.