History of the National Park Service

History of the National Park Service

History of the National Park Service

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	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 4 to 6
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	6.07

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		historic, heritage, federal, military, part, public, however, government, future, outdoors, study, system, culture, decision, country, total
	content words:		United States, National Park Service, Park Service, Yellowstone National Park, War Department, Forest Service, President Woodrow Wilson, Two United States

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History of the National Park Service
By Meg Leonard

¹ National parks are part of our country's heritage. The United States was the first country in the world to have a park system like this. Today, the National Park Service cares for about 400 sites across the country. These sites are used to study nature or culture. They are also a great way for people to have fun outdoors. More than 100 other countries now have their own national parks. They use our National Park Service as a model for their parks.

² How did national parks come to be? The first land was set aside in 1872. Congress made this decision. The land was in the Wyoming and Montana territories. It became Yellowstone National Park. The idea was to keep the land as a public park for all to enjoy. It was run by the Secretary of the Interior. Other monuments and historic sites were managed by the War Department or the Forest Service. In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act. It created the National Park Service. This was a new part of the federal government. Its job was to take care of the existing 35 parks and monuments. It would also take care of all other parks that would be added in the future. In 1933, fifty-six national monuments and military sites were added to the National Park Service. They were transferred from the War Department and Forest Service. This was the start of the unified National Park Service that .....
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