An Act to Establish a National Park Service, 08-25-1916 (General Records of the U.S. Government, National Archives)

On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act which created the National Park Service (NPS). The purpose of the NPS as described in the National Park Service Organic Act “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.” Since 1916, the National Park Service has grown dramatically and today manages 412 different Parks, Monuments, Memorials, and other wonderful places. Nearly 300 million visitors each year Live a Memory by visiting these wonderful places!

To celebrate it’s 100th Birthday, from August 25 through August 28 all visitors to the Parks, Monuments, and Memorials will enjoy free admission to these wonderful places!  To make things even more fun, the NPS will be holding wonderful events throughout the park system!  To learn more about the National Park System and these awesome events, you can visit nps.gov/subjects/centennial/birthday-invitation.htm .

Live a Memory friends!

Now, a few fun facts.

National Park Service (NPS) logo

When you visit an NPS site you will become very familiar with their logo. The logo is shaped like an arrowhead, and includes a sequoia tree, a mountainscape, and a bison. These symbols were selected in order to show the NPS role in preserving our nation’s historic and natural legacies.

Annually, NPS sites enjoy nearly 300 million visitors. Here are the top 10 most visited National Parks in 2014:

1. Great Smoky Mountains NP
2. Grand Canyon NP
3. Yosemite NP
4. Yellowstone NP
5. Rocky Mountain NP
6. Olympic NP
7. Zion NP
8. Grand Teton NP
9. Acadia NP
10. Glacier NP