Show and Celebrate Anniversaries National Park celebrates its second birthday birthday birthday birth birth- day this month Its mother organization the National Park Service observes Its fiftieth etli The National Park Service Service Service Ser Ser- vice was founded in 1916 at ata a time when there were only only only on on- ly 14 designated parks p and 35 national monuments Inthe in inthe inthe the nation PriOr t to establishment pf t the control of existing parks and monuments wb was was under direction of varlo various s government agencies the Int Interior Interior- Department t tl the e Department of Agriculture and the War Department By the time lz 49 parks a anil monuments had been set aside however the need for fora for fora a central control agency wa acute and the was founded Today just half a century later it Jt directs national areas 32 of which are natIonal national nat nat- ional lonal parks Newest of these Is two t years old on Sept Yellowstone Is Is' t the tie e oldest Coldest oldest of the national parks established es es- established s- s when the nation was about yea years s old YoSemite Yo Yo- Semite followed then Sequoia Sequoia Se Se- General Grant Mt Mi Rainier Crater Lake Wind Cave Platt Mesa Verde Verd Hot Springs Reservation n Glacier Rocky Mountain Sully's Hill and Casa Grande Grande Grande Gran Gran- de Ruins The s system stem embraces a avast avast avast i vast variety of ar areas ns ranging ranging ranging rang rang- ing from the rock bound coast of Maine the Olympic pl pic rain rainforest I in in- Washing Washington ton to Hawaii Haw U and and nd Alaska Alaska contains the largest unit In the system Kalmal National Monument consisting consisting consisting ting of over 2 and one half million acres and home of the worlds world's largest bear the big Alaska laska Brown It Is interesting to note however that the major portion of parks within the boundaries of the United States Stales lie tie in ill the western half The eastern section was d densely populated populate l and used up before parks could be set aside which exemplifies exemplifies' the urgency of preserving now y nO recreation atlon areas to benefit future gen gen- The first director of the was Stephen T Tyng ng Mather He created the conceptual conceptual conceptual con con- framework of the Park Parl Service establishing the code and criteria m maintained main main- ln- ln tamed throughout the ye years rs Much park progress including including ding the beginning of or th the vast Mission 66 Development Development Develop Develop- ment Project came about under the directorship of Conrad Wirth Present director director dir dir- ector Is George B B. B Hartzog Jr Prior to establishment of the National Park Service It became evident that much support would would be gained from automobile tourist re ret venue In 1914 the revenue was logged at In ad increased to 40 thousand ha Last st year ear the revenue from from the over million Visitors touring the national national nation nation- al' al t. t r recreation r aU ri areas would have astounded t those trose ose early early- day y pla planners rs and nd the t rl count countis is expected to exceed ex ex- c coed ed 1117 million million this year yean The N National Park ParI Service Service Service Ser Ser Ser- vice continually strives to tom m maintain its two basic aims alms tb t tt conserve primeval val bea beauty ty of the land and to provide facilities for the public to enjoy It ft Within the tle past ast four years 30 new major areas have been added to the system At the beginning of the 1966 season the system in included included in- in eluded miles of roads road's miles Iles of trails campgrounds campsites campsites camp camp- sites and picnic areas with sites sites' In addition addition addi addi- tion private c concessionaires have invested over 73 13 million million mil mu- lion of their own capital to provide food lodging and other facilities for lor the tors I Natural beauty has become become become be be- come one of the nations nation's natural resources under the National Park Service |