On August 25, 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 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department and those yet to be established. This “Organic Act” states that “the Service thus established shall promote and regulate the use of the Federal areas known as national parks, monuments and reservations…by such means and measures as conform to the fundamental purpose of the said parks, monuments and reservations, which purpose is 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.”
In honor of the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service, you and your students can discover the natural beauty and wonder of the southwest by traveling to Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon and then hike the North Rim and watch the sun set over the spectacular Grand Canyon. Explore the itinerary!
Learn more about what the National Park Service is doing to kick off a second century of stewardship here.