On this day in 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the National Park Service Organic Act which created the National Park Service. This new federal bureau within the Department of the Interior was responsible for protecting the 35 national parks and monuments then managed by the department.
Today, the National Park Service (NPS) manages 423 individual units covering about 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories!
Most people are familiar with the term “National Park”, but of the 423 units, only 63 are National Parks. There are at least 19 naming designations for other sites within the NPS. Examples of other naming designations include National Monuments and National Seashores.
For a full list of all 423 National Park Service sites and the different designations, visit this page: https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/national-park-system.htm.
Natural History Wanderings 
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