A bit of history for ya:
In 1882, Yellowstone was signed into law as protected land. As some years went by, other monuments and natural/historic areas were recognized, but the management of these properties was assigned to multiple agencies from the War Department to the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture.
In 1915, to help streamline operations, Teddy Roosevelt established the National Park Service; a federal organization whose mission was to protect and manage the 35 national parks and monuments acknowledged at the time.
In celebration of this milestone and to kickoff their centennial year, NPS is offering free admission to more than 400 parks across the US on August 25 – including Muir Woods National Monument and Yosemite National Park (two of our favorites!).
