Effigy Mounds National Monument
Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa was established on October 25, 1949. The monument protects and interprets the history behind about 200 mounds built by Native Americans centuries ago.
National Parks
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The American Forestry Association
The American Forestry Association was founded on September 10, 1875, in Chicago, Illinois. It’s one of America’s oldest national conservation organizations, with a mission of “Creating Healthy and Resilient Forests, from Cities to Wilderness, that Deliver Essential Benefits for Climate, People, Water and Wildlife.”
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Smokey Bear Created to Join the War Effort
On August 9, 1944, the US Forest Service created Smokey Bear to encourage people to prevent forest fires. The Wildfire Prevention Campaign is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in US history, and Smokey has become an icon recognized around the globe.
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Olympic National Park
The Olympic Mountains are not especially tall. Mount Olympus, the park’s highest peak, rises 7,980 feet. But the range stands close to the Pacific Ocean, and that location shapes nearly everything in the park. Moist air from the ocean moves inland and is pushed upward by the mountains. As the air cools, it drops rain in the valleys and snow on the peaks.
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Birth of Daniel Carter Beard
Daniel “Uncle Dan” Beard was born on June 21, 1850, in Cincinnati, Ohio. His childhood adventures along the rivers and woods of Kentucky later helped shape the activities and ideals of the Boy Scouts of America.
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Aleutian Islands Campaign
On June 3, 1942, Japanese forces kicked of the 14-month Aleutian Islands Campaign. The campaign’s two Japanese invasions were the only ones on US soil during the war.
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Founding of the Sierra Club
On May 28, 1892, John Muir and a small group of California conservationists founded the Sierra Club in San Francisco. Their goal was practical as well as poetic: bring people into the mountains, then organize them to protect the wild places they had come to love.
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Birth of Civilian Conservation Corps
On March 31, 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), putting thousands of unemployed young men to work almost immediately. The program became one of the earliest and most visible efforts of the New Deal, addressing both economic hardship and environmental need with practical, measurable results.
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Bryce Canyon National Park
On February 25, 1928, Bryce Canyon officially became Bryce Canyon National Park, securing permanent federal protection for one of America’s most unusual landscapes. What began as a remote stretch of pink cliffs and strange rock spires in southern Utah had become important enough to earn the highest level of preservation in the National Park System.
