Conserving, Preserving and Protecting St. Augustine's History and Nature Forever

Teddy Roosevelt: "Leave it as it is."



Some 4.5 years ago, I drafted for discussion model federal legislation to set up a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal highway here. On Tuesday, November 1, 2011, St. Johns County Commissioners will talk about it as their first item of business.

Our Nation’s Oldest City survived being burnt to the ground by the British, pirates, wars, genocide, epidemics and economic disasters.

Our Nation's Oldest City can likewise survive the Great Recession with pollution-free "green jobs" at good wages, by preserving our history and nature forever.

Our Nation’s Oldest City can likewise survive the uglifying "developers"and have a national park by 2013/2016 (450th anniversary of Spanish explorers and St. Augustine’s founding, respectively), preserving our nature and history and honoring Native-American, African-American, Spanish, British, French, Civil War, Civil Rights and American history here.

A St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Will Provide Land for All To Enjoy at a Time When "Developers" Have Approval to Build Tens of Thousands of New Homes

Just as in so many sacred, beautiful, historic places, where rich and powerful and influential organizations were ready to destroy history and nature, the National Park Service is empowered to stop what John Muir called "temple destroyers" here in our hometown, St. Augustine.

From the Yellowstone to Grand Canyon to the Everglades, the National Park Service (NPS)(like the Mounties), has rescued our landscape from predators.

Here in St. Augustine, NPS can buy land or accept donations from developers and stop the reign of ruin of the likes of ROBERT MICHAEL GRAUBARD and others who destroy history and nature (including a 3000-4000 year old Indian village next to St. Augustine High School).

If you haven't seen it already, go watch Ken Burns' PBS series, "THE NATIONAL PARKS -- America's Best Idea." We've learned a lot from it -- it is the courage of individuals that helps makes a national park -- the courage to ignore the nattering nabobs of negativism, the name-callers, the mediocrities, the mendacious negativities -- uninformed, misled, misanthropic people "who know not that they know not that they know not."

As Robert Kennedy said in South Africa, “each time a [person] stands up for an ideal or speaks out for the rights of others, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples can form a current that can sweep away the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

I’m optimistic that, working together, we can get Congress to create a national park here. See below. I’ve gotten positive feedback from citizens and elected officials since I first proposed it on November 13, 2006. The idea was first proposed by Senators Andrews and Pepper in June 1939, before the outbreak of World War II.
As Harry Truman said, "the only thing new under the sun is the history you don't know." Whzt do you reckon?

Here's the draft resolution our St. Johns County Commissioners will discuss on Tuesday:

A RESOLUTION BY THE ST. JOHNS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS,
RESOLUTION 2011-___
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE ST. JOHNS COUNTY BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS, that the Commission:
Remembering that the City of St. Augustine was founded by the Spanish explorer Pedro Menéndez de Avilés on September 8, 1565 and retains significant archaeological, architectural features, archival materials, and museum collections illustrative of the Spanish, Minorcan, Greek and British colonial periods;
Appreciating the fact that St. Augustine’s historic resources provide unique opportunities for illustrating and interpreting indigenous (Native-American), African-American, Spanish, French, Minorcan, Greek, Cuban, Haitian, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, British, American, Civil War, military, nautical, Flagler-era and Civil Rights history and Northeast Florida’s contribution to the economic, social, and environmental history of the United States and provide opportunities for public use and enjoyment;
Planning for the year 2013, which marks the 500th anniversary of the arrival of Spanish explorers and colonists, along with enslaved and free African-Americans, on these shores;
Planning for the year 2014, which marks the 50th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964;
Planning for the year 2015, which marks the 450th anniversary of the City of St. Augustine;
Planning for the year 2016, which marks the 100th anniversary of the National Park Service;
Appreciating that the National Park System presently contains only two small National Monuments associated with one part of St. Augustine’s 11,000 years of human history;
Recognizing St. Augustine and St. Johns County and its coasts are imbued and blessed with great natural beauty and biodiversity, with significant threatened and endangered species, including turtles, right whales, beach mice, butterflies, bald eagles and manatees;
Understanding that the St. Augustine and St. Johns County area’s precious environmental, historic and cultural heritage is in danger of destruction due to large-scale, rapid development and a lack of sufficient resources and planning for parklands, preservation and public transportation;
Appreciating that several significant properties have been lost to development forever and more are imperiled;
Knowing that roads are clogged and the enjoyment of the area’s beauty is marred by lack of sufficient public transportation;
Realizing that our historic properties and downtown street suffer from poor drainage and flooding in heavy rains;
Learning that the first proposal for a St. Augustine National Historical Park and Seashore was introduced in Congress by Florida’s United States Senators Charles O. Andrews and Claude Pepper and by U.S. Rep. Joseph Handricks in June 1939, more than seventy-two (72) years ago; and
Concluding that there is an urgent need for action on the part of our federal government to preserve the history and beauty of the area and to provide efficient public transportation to serve the millions of visitors annually, while relieving local residents from traffic congestion, air pollution and energy waste associated with rapid development.
THEREFORE, be it RESOLVED, that the St. Johns County Board of County Commissions calls upon Congress to enact a St. Augustine National Historical Park, National Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Act, with provisions for operating and maintaining a National Civil Rights Museum and Museum of Native American history, and for an I-95 interchange serving West Augustine and King Street.

National Park Service: Criteria For New National Parks

Throughout the Nation, people are working to conserve natural
resources, protect historic sites, and to provide recreational opportunities
for a growing population. Many communities also are looking
for ways to combine conservation with efforts to attract visitors
who will help support the local economy. The National Park Service
is responsible for carefully screening proposals for new park units
to assure that only the most outstanding resources are added to
the National Park System. Regardless of economic considerations or
other factors, a new national park area must meet criteria for
national significance, suitability, and feasibility. Various other management
options are also weighed. For those with proposals for
consideration, this page explains the criteria applied by the National
Park Service in evaluating new park proposals, outlines the study
process, and lists some of the other ways to recognize and protect
important resources outside of the National Park System.

How are national parks created? What qualities make an area eligible to
be a national monument, historic site, recreation area, or other units of
the National Park System? These questions are frequently asked by people
throughout the country. Some people think a scenic part of their
community deserves to be a national park. Others want national recognition
for their favorite historic house or geological formation. These sites
may deserve to be protected, but how do we decide if action should be
taken at the state or local level instead of by the Federal Government,
and if federal action is appropriate what agency should take the lead?
The National Park Service has established criteria for national significance,
suitability, feasibility, and management alternatives that help answer
these questions. This page presents the criteria and the study
process established by Congress and in the National Park Service’s Management
Policies. People with suggestions for new parks can use these
criteria as a yardstick to see if their proposals are likely to merit further
consideration.
Units of the National Park System are managed under mandates differing
from those guiding many other Federal, State, and local agencies. The
National Park Service is responsible for managing areas to provide for
public enjoyment in such a way that will leave resources “unimpaired for
the enjoyment of future generations.” Since 1872 the National Park System
has grown to include almost 400 areas. The System will continue to
evolve, reflecting the progression of history, new understandings of natural
systems, and changes in patterns of recreation. However, the areas
managed by the National Park Service are a small part of the broader system
for protecting important places. Addition to the National Park Service
is only one of many alternatives, and the National Park Service also
operates several programs that help others preserve natural, cultural,
and recreational areas outside of the System.

Proposals for additions to the National Park System may come from the
public, state, and local officials, Indian tribes, members of Congress, or
the National Park Service. To be eligible for favorable consideration as a
unit of the National Park System, an area must possess nationally significant
natural, cultural, or recreational resources; be a suitable and feasible
addition to the system; and require direct NPS management instead of
protection by some other governmental agency or by the private sector.

QUALIFICATIONS
How are national parks created? What qualities make an area eligible to
be a national monument, historic site, recreation area, or other units of
the National Park System? These questions are frequently asked by people
throughout the country. Some people think a scenic part of their
community deserves to be a national park. Others want national recognition
for their favorite historic house or geological formation. These sites
may deserve to be protected, but how do we decide if action should be
taken at the state or local level instead of by the Federal Government,
and if federal action is appropriate what agency should take the lead?
The National Park Service has established criteria for national significance,
suitability, feasibility, and management alternatives that help answer
these questions. This page presents the criteria and the study
process established by Congress and in the National Park Service’s Management
Policies. People with suggestions for new parks can use these
criteria as a yardstick to see if their proposals are likely to merit further
consideration.
Units of the National Park System are managed under mandates differing
from those guiding many other Federal, State, and local agencies. The
National Park Service is responsible for managing areas to provide for
public enjoyment in such a way that will leave resources “unimpaired for
the enjoyment of future generations.” Since 1872 the National Park System
has grown to include almost 400 areas. The System will continue to
evolve, reflecting the progression of history, new understandings of natural
systems, and changes in patterns of recreation. However, the areas
managed by the National Park Service are a small part of the broader system
for protecting important places. Addition to the National Park Service
is only one of many alternatives, and the National Park Service also
operates several programs that help others preserve natural, cultural,
and recreational areas outside of the System.
Proposals for additions to the National Park System may come from the
public, state, and local officials, Indian tribes, members of Congress, or
the National Park Service. To be eligible for favorable consideration as a
unit of the National Park System, an area must possess nationally significant
natural, cultural, or recreational resources; be a suitable and feasible
addition to the system; and require direct NPS management instead of
protection by some other governmental agency or by the private sector.

NATIONAL SIGNIFICANCE

A proposed unit will be considered nationally significant if it meets all
four of the following standards:
• it is an outstanding example of a particular type of resource.
• it possesses exceptional value or quality in illustrating or interpreting
the natural or cultural themes of our Nation’s heritage.
• it offers superlative opportunities for recreation for public use and enjoyment,
or for scientific study.
• it retains a high degree of integrity as a true, accurate, and relatively
unspoiled example of the resource.

RESOURCE EVALUATION

The following examples of natural and cultural resources are considered
in evaluating the significance of a proposal for addition to the National
Park System.
Natural Area examples may include:
• an outstanding site that illustrates the characteristics of a widespread
landform or biotic area. that is still widespread;
• a rare remnant natural landscape or biotic area of a type that was once
widespread but is now vanishing due to human settlement and development;
• a landform or biotic area that has always been extremely uncommon in
the region or nation;
• a site that possesses exceptional diversity of ecological components
(species, communities, or habitats) or geological features (landforms,
observable manifestations of geologic processes);
• a site that contains biotic species or communities whose natural distribution
at that location ismakes them unusual (for example, a community
relatively large population at the limit of its range or a disjunctn isolated
population);
• a site that harbors a concentrated population of a rare plant or animal
species, particularly one officially recognized as threatened or endangered;
• a critical refuge that is necessary for the continued survival of a species;
• a site that contains rare or unusually abundant fossil deposits;
• an area that has outstanding scenic qualities such as dramatic topographic
features, unusual contrasts in landforms or vegetation, spectacular
vistas, or other special landscape features;
• a site that has an invaluable ecological or geological importance benchmark
due to an extensive and long-term record of research and scientific
discovery.
Cultural Areas may be historic districts, sites, buildings, structures, structures,
or objects that possess exceptional value or quality in illustrating
or interpreting our heritage and that possess a high degree of integrity
of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and
association.
Specific examples include:
• a resource that is associated with events that have made a significantly
contribution contributed to and are identified with, or that outstandingly
represent the broad national patterns of United States history
and from which an understanding and appreciation of those patterns
may be gained;
• a resource that is importantly associated with the lives of persons nationally
significant in the history of the United States history;
• a resource that embodies distinguishing characteristics of an architectural
type specimen, exceptionally valuable for study of a period, style,
or method of construction, or represents a significant, distinctive, and
exceptional entity whose components may lack individual distinction;
• a resource with several components that may not that is composed of
integral parts of the environment not sufficiently significant by reason
of historical association or artistic merit to warrant individual recognition
but that collectively [comprise] an entity of exceptional historical
or artistic significance, or that outstandingly commemorates or illustrates
a way of life or culture;
• a resource that has yielded or may be likely to yield information of
major scientific importance by revealing new cultures, or by shedding
light upon on periods of occupation over large areas of the United
States.
Ordinarily cemeteries, birthplaces, graves of historical figures, properties
owned by religious institutions or used for religious purposes, structures
that have been moved from their original locations, and reconstructed
historic buildings and properties that have achieved significance within in
the past 50 years are not considered to be appropriate as additions to the
National Park System. unless the property meets certain exceptions to the
criteria.
Many units of the National Park System have been established to recognize
their important role in providing recreational opportunities. The potential
for public use and enjoyment is an important consideration in
evaluating potential new additions to the National Park System. However,
recreational values are not evaluated independently from the natural
and cultural resources that provide the settings for recreational activities.
Suitability
An area that is nationally significant also must meet criteria for suitability
and feasibility to qualify as a potential addition to the National Park System.
To be suitable for inclusion in the System an area must represent a
natural or cultural theme or type of recreational resource that is not already
adequately represented in the National Park System or is not comparably
represented and protected for public enjoyment by another
land-managing entity. Adequacy of representation is determined on a
case-by-case basis by comparing the proposed area to other units in the
National Park System for differences or similarities in the character, quality,
quantity, or combination of resources, and opportunities for public
enjoyment.
Feasibility
To be feasible as a new unit of the National Park System an area’s natural
systems and/or historic settings must be of sufficient size and appropriate
configuration to ensure long-term protection of the resources and to accommodate
public use. It must have potential for efficient administration
at a reasonable cost. Important feasibility factors include landownership,
acquisition costs, life cycle maintenance costs, access, threats to the resource,
and staff or development requirements.
Criteria for New National Parks National Park Service
U.S. Department of the Interior
Throughout the Nation, people are working to conserve natural
resources, protect historic sites, and to provide recreational opportunities
for a growing population. Many communities also are looking
for ways to combine conservation with efforts to attract visitors
who will help support the local economy. The National Park Service
is responsible for carefully screening proposals for new park units
to assure that only the most outstanding resources are added to
the National Park System. Regardless of economic considerations or
other factors, a new national park area must meet criteria for
national significance, suitability, and feasibility. Various other management
options are also weighed. For those with proposals for
consideration, this page explains the criteria applied by the National
Park Service in evaluating new park proposals, outlines the study
process, and lists some of the other ways to recognize and protect
important resources outside of the National Park System.

For more, please see the NPS website

2007 St. Augustine Record Editorial re: National Park: Gift Idea for St. Augustine's 450th -- when will Record endorse the Park and Seashore?

Support for National Park: Gift ideas few for city's big 4-5-0

From Staff
Publication Date: 10/06/07

Gift ideas few for city's big 4-5-0

We asked readers last week to suggest the best gift for the city of St. Augustine's 450th birthday in 2015.

We got a few.

Perhaps most people don't think there's any gift to be had when you reach 450.

Here's what readers told us:

Editor: Our Minorcan family has lived here for some 230 years. For our 450th, to save St. Augustine, our city needs a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal highway to showcase to the world and to preserve forever our precious cultural, environmental and wildlife heritage.

Drayton Manucy

St. Augustine

Editor: I support Ed Slavin's Nov. 13, 2006 proposal for a St. Augustine National Historic Park, National Seashore and National Scenic Coastal Highway. This beautiful historic place must be preserved forever (or else our history and heritage and beauty will be destroyed forever). Congress must act swiftly.

David Brian Wallace

St. Augustine

Editor: The newly formed Theatre Saint Augustine has planned a meeting for all members of the community to develop thoughts on how the artistic and historic community can work together towards events for the 450th celebration. The possible development of a revised Cross and Sword, Florida's state play, will be a focus of discussion at the St. Johns County Main Public Library, 1960 N. Ponce de Leon Blvd., for Oct. 22, at 6 p.m., For additional information visit www.theatresaintaugustine.com

Kiki Tovey

Theatre Saint Augustine

St. Augustine

Those are some good ideas.

We'd add, too, that perhaps city officials should visit Kansas City, Mo., where beautiful fountains and bronze statues of all sizes delight visitors and residents alike.

Some commemorate events, others people. We've got some statues and fountains already but nothing like you will find in KCMO.

The city is proof, you can never have too many fountains or statues.


Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/100607/opinions_10062007_037.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

St. Augustine Record Letter: All-embracing 'park' -- best gift for the 450th

Letter: All-embracing 'park' -- best gift for the 450th
By ED SLAVIN
Created 05/27/2011 - 12:00am
Summary:

Editor: Ken Burns' 2009 PBS documentary quoted Wallace Stegner, who called America's National Parks our "Best Idea."

For our 450th birthday, let's ask for an "emerald necklace of parks" -- St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway, with a National Civil Rights Museum and Museum of Indigenous Native Americans. www.staugustgreen.com

The land is already ours -- federal, state and water management district land. Let's preserve and protect more than 130,000 acres of land, in one national park and seashore, connected with trails and battery-powered trolleys.

Take the Castillo de San Marcos, Fort Matanzas, add water (county beaches, including the beach where civil rights wade-ins and arrests occurred). Add state parks, forests and water management district land in two counties and what do you have? St. Augustine National Historical Park and Seashore, which will capture the imagination, reconnect us with our history and nature, preserve wetlands and prevent erosion, while preserving endangered and threatened species.

A 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation study found environmental and historic tourists spent more money -- good to grow our tourist-driven economy.

Our 450th birthday is a "teachable moment": the National Park Service will share and interpret St. Augustine's 11,000 years of history, including indigenous (Native-American), African-American, Spanish, French, Minorcan, Greek, Cuban, Haitian, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Protestant, British, American, Civil War, military, nautical, Flagler-era and Civil Rights history and Northeast Florida's contribution to American history.

Finally, we need an Interstate-95 interchange for West Augustine and West King Street -- call it the "here we right a wrong" interchange, remedying 1960s discrimination.

We love St. Augustine. We're blessed to live here.

Let's preserve and protect St. Augustine forever. Your grandchildren (and their grandchildren) will say "thank you" for the 450th birthday present -- parks, preservation and teaching peaceful ways, while fully realizing this economic opportunity for our collective good.

Ed Slavin

St. Augustine

Folio Weekly: Backpage Editorial by Faye Armitage -- "SAVING ST. AUGUSTINE"

The future of St. Augustine's historic downtown is endangered by schlock: T-shirts for sale in former Woolworth's store on King Street, site of Civil Rights sit-ins, across the street from our Plaza de la Constitucion and two Civil Rights Monuments


Our threatened wildlife need the protection of a National Historical Park and National Seashore


Backpage Editorial
Faye Armitage
Saving St. Augustine
St. Augustine’s small-town Spanish Colonial charm is in
danger of being ruined by schlock. We love St. Augustine
and must preserve the beauty of endangered Matanzas Inlet
sunsets, Anastasia Island beach mice, nesting leatherback
turtles, soaring families of bald eagles and frolicking schools
of manatees and whales. Florida’s First Coast deserves a first
class National Park for the 500th anniversary of Spanish
Florida (in 2013) and 450th anniversary of St. Augustine
(in 2015).
The late U.S. Speaker of the House
Thomas P. “Tip” O’Neill and Edward
Boland of Massachusetts made history in
1958, courageously working to protect
Cape Cod’s charm forever. Boland returned
in 1958 from a trip to Cape Hatteras
National Seashore. Within a fortnight, the
two Massachusetts Democrats introduced
the Cape Cod National Seashore Act
(backed by John F. Kennedy only after he
became president).
Commercial interests thought that a
national seashore would be bad for business.
They were wrong. Today we scoff at
the quaint story of O’Neill and Boland
being hung in effigy and booed in the Cape
Cod towns of Wellfleet and Truro, where
citizens, in their annual town meetings,
voted against the bill.
Even JFK, the Pulitzer Prize-winning
author of “Profiles in Courage,” feared local
commercial interests in Massachusetts
when it came to proposing a national
seashore. JFK later came aboard as president,
to consider the National Seashore the
best thing he ever did for Massachusetts.
Today’s visitors to Cape Cod come from
around the world to partake of its charm,
marshes, woodlands, beaches and towns
that were saved thanks to the vision of
Congressmen O’Neill and Boland.
A St. Augustine National Park was first
proposed before World War II. The idea is
five years older than President Harry S Truman’s
national health insurance proposal.
And as with national health care, Congress
too often resembles a herd of turtles trying
to write a symphony. It’s somewhat understandable
that our two busy U.S. Senators
(and Representative John Luigi Mica)
haven’t introduced a National Historical
Park, Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway.
Legislation moves glacially, except in emergencies.
We have one now.
Our local economy is in a state of emergency.
Businesses are dying. We’re ready for
Congress to stimulate our economy and
preserve our way of life by enacting a St.
Augustine National Historical Park,
Seashore and Scenic Coastal Parkway Act,
supported by a diverse group of citizens,
from octogenarian environmental activist
Robin Nadeau to former Republican
County Commission Chairperson John
Sundeman to St. Augustine Democratic
Club Chairperson Jeanne Moeller, among a
growing group of people concerned about
the declining quality of the tourist experience
in St. Johns County.
A National Historical Park would preserve
and protect St. Augustine’s historic
downtown with the dignity and experience
of the National Park Service, just as parts of
Boston, New Bedford, Philadelphia and
other historic cities are preserved. It would
step into the breach left by the Florida legislature,
Secretary of State, University of
Florida and city of St. Augustine, all of
whom have been unable to repair crumbling
buildings and historic monuments. A
national historical park would preserve
downtown streets and reduce congestion,
improving the tourist experience and making
it one that longer-staying (and biggerspending)
historic and environmental
tourists will enjoy.
A national historic park managed by the
National Park Service would portray history
and nature accurately, as done in Virginia’s
Colonial Williamsburg and the
Colonial National Historical Parkway.
There could also be a National Civil Rights
and Indigenous History Museum, aimed at
telling the region’s story of 11,000 years of
human history, honoring Native Americans,
African-Americans and the Civil
Rights movement here, which helped win
adoption of national antidiscrimination
laws in 1964. The struggles on St. Augustine’s
streets and beaches, including the
arrest of Massachusetts Governor Endicott
Peabody’s mother and Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr., need to be retold and told well.
soldiers monument in St. Augustine’s Plaza
de la Constitucion, paying tribute to Civil
Rights Era activists whose efforts helped
break the Senate logjam and enact basic
nondiscrimination laws.
A national seashore and coastal parkway
designation would protect the coast from
uglification, as at other national seashores.
We have 61 miles of coast here, and the
transfer from county to federal jurisdiction
would save local tax monies and make environmental
protection a priority on beaches
where turtles land to give birth, and where
beach mice and other critters scamper.
In September, watch Ken Burns’ PBS
documentary “Our National Parks: America’s
Best Idea.” Think of how uplifting it
will be to be able to drive from Ponte Vedra
to Marineland as a tourist or resident,
secure in the knowledge that the beaches
will survive and not be turned into some
unreasonable facsimile of Miami.
Think of the economic efficiency and
environmental benefits of entrusting city
and county parks, seashore water management
district land and at least five state
parks (including Anastasia and Guana-
Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine
Reserve) to one world-class organization
(the National Park Service) to protect, preserve
and interpret, rather than allowing
the land to be ripped apart by greed.
Think of the good jobs that will encourage
young people to stay here, working as
National Park Service employees and contractors.
Think of historic interpreters and
environmental tour guides who are
rewarded with a federal showcase, inviting
the world to a world-class destination.
Let’s enlist Congress and the president
to help us tell our region’s rich history —
including the story of the Indians, African-
American slaves and Minorcan and Greek
indentured servants (who escaped to St.
Augustine from New Smyrna Beach, “voting
with their feet” against slavery by contract.
Indentured servitude was outlawed
along with regular slavery with the 13th
Amendment in 1865.
Think of how our tourist economy will
be stimulated and jobs created and preserved
by preserving the stunning vistas
that draw people here, not uglifying them
with massive high-rises, suburban sprawl
and unsafe homes built in wetlands.
Think of how fourth-graders now and
in the future, from all over Florida, will be
rewarded for their studies of Florida history
by helping preserve “the real Florida” — St.
Augustine and St. Johns County — forever.
It is up to us to learn from the young
and to protect Northeast Florida for families,
flora, fauna and the future. Visit
staugustgreen.com for more information
and let your neighbors and national and
local leaders know what you think. 

Faye Armitage lives in Fruit Cove. In 2008,
she ran against nine-term Congressional
incumbent John Mica, receiving nearly 150,000 votes.



A National Historical Park would preserve and protect
St. Augustine’s historic downtown with the dignity
and experience of the National Park Service, just as
parts of Boston, New Bedford, Philadelphia and
other historic cities are preserved.

ST AUGUSTINE UNDERGROUND: St. Augustine’s History is A National treasure -- Time for a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and & Parkway

From the January 1, 2011 issue of St. Augustine Underground (published by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, which also publishes the Ponte Vedra Recorder and Clay Today):

St. Augustine’s History is A National treasure -- The time has come to bring out the big guns and protect our nationally important local heritage with the
creation of The St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Coastal Parkway.

By Ed Slavin

A famous journalism professor said
that “if you’re going to tell a
story about a bear, bring on the
bear.”
Here’s how to protect St. Johns
County’s bears – and other endangered
and threatened species – while growing
our economy and making life better for
your grandchildren (and their grandchildren).
2011 is critical to reviving our local
economy, creating jobs and preserving
our city’s and our county’s environment
and history.
How do we revive our depressed local
tourist economy? How do we get “out
of the ditch,” which Wall Street and
local speculators created?
By persuading Congress to enact a
St. Augustine National Historical Park,
Seashore and Coastal Parkway.
Let’s donate 13 large tracts: the
Florida Department of Environmental
Protection’s Guana Tolomato Matanzas
National Estuarine Research Reserve,
Anastasia State Park, Faver-Dykes
State Park and Fort Mosé State Park;
Florida Department of Agriculture’s
Deep Creek State Forest and Watson
Island State Forest; St. Johns County
beaches and the Nocatee Preserve; and
St. Johns River Water Management
District ‘s Twelve Mile Swamp, Deep
Creek, Matanzas Marsh, Moses Creek
and Stokes Landing preserves.
Let’s donate them to the federal government
for the St. Augustine National
Historical Park and Seashore. These
vast tracts of government-owned land
are suitable for a National Park and
Seashore – more than 120,000 acres.
In Woodie Guthrie’s words, “This land
is our land” already – it is our county
beaches, state parks and forests and
water management district land. Combined
with the Castillo de San Marcos
and Fort Matanzas, this land will make
one glorious National Park and Seashore,
making us all proud and properly
celebrating St. Augustine’s 450th
birthday (2015) and Spanish Florida’s
500th (2013).
Donating the land can save more than
$33 million over 10 years for state and
local governments; revive our economy;
create better-paying jobs with real
futures; protect our historic and environmental
heritage; teach our children
about history, beauty and nature; better
preserve our beaches; protect homes
from erosion; raise our property values;
and protect wildlife.
Let’s put people to work and draw
environmental and historic tourists,
who National Trust for Historic Preservation
and other studies say spend
more and visit longer, putting more
proverbial “heads in beds.” How? By
empowering our National Park Service
– America’s favorite federal agency. Ken
Burns’ PBS documentary rightly called
our National Parks “America’s Best
Idea.” We need one here.
Let’s teach history and nature to
future generations with a National Civil
Rights museum here in St. Augustine
and by celebrating all our history
-- 11,000 years of indigenous Native
American, African-American, Spanish,
Minorcan, French, English, Civil War,
Roman Catholic, Greek, Jewish, Protestant,
nautical, military, Flagler-era and
Civil Rights history.
Let’s preserve our endangered and
threatened species -- including right
whales (only 350 left, reportedly the
most endangered whales on the planet)
-- as well as turtles, bears, bald eagles,
manatees, beach mice and butterflies.
This Park and Seashore will rival Cape
Cod National Seashore, the Everglades,
Philadelphia and other tourist “hot
spots,” giving teachers and parents
tools to teach children lessons that will
keep them coming back for life.
Our state’s economy has suffered so
much since the Deepwater Horizon
disaster. We look to British Petroleum
to pay for it all as part of its economic
and environmental remediation to the
State of Florida.
The first step is for our governor and
legislature to agree to donate this land
to the federal government for one “public
park or pleasuring ground for the
benefit and enjoyment of the people,”
as Congress said in 1872 in creating
Yellowstone National Park.
Here are some frequently asked questions:
1. Will this park legislation violate
private property rights? No. The draft
legislation provides for donations of
government lands and donations or
sales from willing sellers. Condemnation
lawsuits are authorized only to
“preserve [historic buildings and land]
from destruction.”
2. How would the park affect local
businesses, tourist attractions and
churches? Very positively. Historic and
environmental tourists spend more and
stay longer, studies show. This will create
more good-paying jobs, in the Park
Service, kayaking, tour-guide
companies, restaurants, hotels
and guest houses. There’s
a list of tourist attractions
and places of worship in the
legislation that the National
Park Service could assist with
historic interpretation. It
includes churches where Rev.
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rev.
Andrew Young spoke, working with
local residents to create our 1964 Civil
Rights Act.
3. Will this legislation take over the
government of the City of St. Augustine?
No. But St. Augustine can donate
a few parks to the cause. Our city needs
help and cannot handle the 450th celebration
alone. A greater National Park
Service presence here will help better
guide and orient millions of visitors.
The Park will help make our city a
better place – just ask the residents of
Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras.
4. What positive changes will creation
of a St. Augustine National Park and
Seashore make?
A. Increase property values and local
tax collections. Property values
increase near National Parks and Seashores.
Bed tax and sales tax receipts
will increase.
B. Grow our economy. Our local
economy is stagnant. The National
Park Service will help get us out of the
ditch.
C. Reduce spending by our state, local
and water management district government
– savings of $33 million over ten
years.
D. Increase the quality of tourism
marketing -- greatly simplified by combining
all this land into one National
Park.
E. Improve the quality of historic and
environmental interpretation, preservation
and protection. Right now, tourists
learn very little about our African-
American and Civil Rights history, for
example, or the heroic history of the
Minorcans and other immigrants to our
shores, or the endangered species that
make this area a paradise. The National
Park Service is experienced at protecting
nature and interpreting history
while stimulating tourism. A National
Civil Rights museum here in St. Augustine
will attract more school groups
and minority tourists – Rev. Dr. Martin
Luther King, Jr. is known world-wide
and his legacy here will attract tourists.
5. How will this affect historic reenactors?
Good jobs await them at the
National Park Service.
6. Is this legislation family-friendly?
Yes. Residents and tourists will thank
you for creating a wholesome place to
take children where they learn about
history and our environment, with a
classroom that is as big as all outdoors,
embracing 11,000 years of human history
on these shores.
7. How will this affect beach driving?
The legislation does not address
it, either way. Elsewhere, as in Cape
Cod, residents are licensed to drive on
National Park Service beaches after
proper training and can take tourists on
beach tours.
8. Is there a potential downside?
One. Proper transportation planning
is required to avoid congestion. The
draft bill requires a plan for “cost-effective,
sustainable, carbon-neutral,
environmentally-friendly means of
transporting visitors and residents to
and through the park’s locations, using
trolley cars resembling those in use in
St. Augustine, Florida, in 1928, with
the goal of reducing hydrocarbon consumption,
traffic congestion, air pollution
and damage to historic structures.”
9. When was the National Park idea
first proposed? Some 70 years ago,
before World War II.
10. What are we waiting for? You tell
me!
Will you please help us celebrate
11,000 years of history and protect
what deserves protecting forever inviolate?
Will you please share your suggestions
about how to improve the first
draft of the legislation? Let us work together
to accomplish something we can
all be proud of for future generations
yet unborn who will say, “thank you.”
Please see www.staugustgreen.com

St. Augustine activist Ed Slavin
(B.S.F.S., Georgetown University, J.D.
Memphis State University) first proposed
the St. Augustine National Park and
Seashore Nov. 13, 2006.

Faye Armitage on St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore to Create Green Jobs Without Pollution, Preserve Nature, History

Preserve and protect all of our city's history

In the flatlands of Florida, St. Augustine stands out as one of the most cultured destinations in the state. James Watkins was able to photograph this outstanding scenery over the Atlantic Ocean in January 2009. If you look closely you can see the planet Venus in the sky as the sun sets. Watkins said “every five minutes the sky was going through a different color cycle and it was amazing.” Photo courtesy of James Watkins via Flickr.com.(Woman's Day Magazine)

Preserve and protect all of our city's history

Posted: November 7, 2009 - 12:46am

By FAYE ARMITAGE

Fruit Cove

On Nov. 2, I received my First America Passport at the City of St. Augustine's 450th Commemoration Town Hall Meeting at the Flagler College Auditorium. A beautiful rubber-stamp adorns page one of my new passport (co-sponsored by augustine.com). Seven other events are planned, paying tribute to Native Americans, colonists, pirates, the British, Florida "Crackers," Flagler's Age of Opulence, and the Civil Rights era in St. Augustine. Each can earn you another stamp on your way to becoming an ambassador for the first city in our nation: St. Augustine.

Attendance was terrific, about 150. The presentation by Dana Ste. Claire was excellent. See www.staugustinegovernment.com.

Mayor Joe Boles urged attendees to "be creative," explaining how Jamestown welcomed 3-4 million visitors during its 400th birthday, bringing more than $1 billion in economic activity, along with international visitors (including the Queen of England). Heritage and environmental tourism is a very sustainable tourism, growing jobs without pollution. Our planning must preserve and protect, in the words of Frederick Law Olmsted, an "emerald necklace of parks," with a museum covering 11,000 years of history, including Indian, Spanish, African-American, French, English, Minorcan, Civil War, Flagler era and Civil Rights history.

This would empower Florida's schoolchildren to learn from history and nature, while providing the unique St. Augustine "branding" opportunity to grow our economy. That's why I support creation of a St. Augustine National Historical Park, Seashore and Coastal Parkway. Let's combine five state parks into one national park to better protect these local treasures (adding other lands as appropriate, including current St. Johns River Water Management District land).

For more information, check staugustgreen.com. Anyone who watched Ken Burns' 12-hour PBS documentary, "The National Parks, America's Best Idea," knows that our national parks are a uniquely American idea that protects nature and history from destruction. From the Everglades to the Grand Canyon to volcanoes to historic Philadelphia, Boston and New Bedford, the National Park Service is uniquely qualified to interpret our human and natural history. Let's ask NPS to educate Americans about our Nation's Oldest City.

The park could include light rail to connect St. Augustine to the beaches and what are currently state parks, like Guana-Tolomato-Matanzas National Estuarine Reserve (GTM-NERR) and Anastasia State Park, relieving traffic congestion and enhancing the visitor experience.

The park would raise our property values, help fight coastal erosion and wetland destruction, increase sustainable tourism, providing better jobs. Tourism drives our local economy. A national park would increase the length and quality of tourist stays, while making visits here a learning experience for everyone.

Seventh District incumbent U.S. Rep. John Mica recently obtained $500,000 funding for design of a brand-new National Park Service visitors center, located directly across from Castillo de San Marcos.

St. Augustine doesn't need a new building there. That's why I support a visitors' center located elsewhere, perhaps in restored buildings on St. George Street or at Sebastian Inland Harbor, interpreting all of our history and nature, while showing off and encouraging our visitors to enjoy our port, marshes, rivers, seashore and forests. Let's not worsen congestion of downtown. We need a park, not more pork.

We are blessed to live in St. Augustine and St. Johns County and we must adopt legislation to ensure that the places we love are preserved forever, preserving our way of life with an "emerald necklace of parks."

Rose Kennedy's favorite Bible quote was: "To whom much has been given, much is expected." (Luke 12:48).

Let's honor our precious cultural heritage, protect our environment and help grow our economy by having portions of St Augustine and St. Johns County designated as America's next National Park. Yes we can.

*

Faye Armitage is an economist and mother of five who lives in Fruit Cove. She was the Democratic nominee in the Seventh Congressional District against Rep. John Mica in 2008, earning nearly 150,000 votes in a district, which stretches from Ponte Vedra to Daytona Beach and Orlando.

Guest Column: St. Augustine must have a national historical park, seashore and scenic coastal parkway --- check out www.staugustgreen.com

Guest Column: St. Augustine should have a national historical park



ED SLAVIN
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 03/26/07


Real estate speculators (some foreign-funded) continue to destroy our local wildlife, habitat, nature and history. Roads are clogged. Noise abounds. Our way of life is being destroyed. Unfeeling, uncaring Philistines are turning St. Johns County into an uglier, unreasonable facsimile of South Florida. Unjust county government stewards allowed an asphalt plant near homes. Another plant reportedly emits 50 tons/year of volatile organic compounds into residents' and workers' lungs and brains.

Speculators are even trying to build homes on top of unremediated septic tanks/fields, while vacationing boaters pollute our Bay front with untreated sewage (the only boat-pumpout-station is at Conch House Marina). Our Bay front (which lacks a harbormaster) had an oil spill Jan. 15. Developers demand to build docks over city-owned State Road 312 area marshes for boat-owners' pleasure. Enough.

Let's invite environmental tourism by preserving an "emerald necklace of parks," including the city-owned marsh.

Ask Congress to hold hearings to map our "St. Augustine National Historical Park and National Seashore" (SANHPNS), using 1928-style trolleycars to save gasoline, uniting the Castillo and Fort Matanzas National Monuments, "slave market park," downtown streets, Government House, Red House Bluff indigenous village (next to historical society), marshes, forests, National Cemetery, GTM NERR, Anastasia State Park, Fort Mose and other city, county, state and St. Johns River Water Management District lands.

Let's cancel future shock/schlock/sprawl/ugliness/skyscrapers and eliminate temptations to abuse/neglect/misuse state parks and historic buildings for golf courses and rote, rube commercialism.

In December, State Sen. Jim King suggested Florida donate "deed and title" of state buildings to our city. I suggested that we deed them to the National Park Service (NPS), with St. George Street visitor center in restored buildings, saving millions (as in the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park).

St. Augustine needs a national civil rights and indigenous history museum, celebrating local residents and national leaders, whose courage helped win passage of 1964's Civil Rights Act. Why not put the museum in the old Woolworth's building, restored to its former glory, with wood floors, lunch-counter and exhibits on the civil rights struggles that changed history (well- documented in Jeremy Dean's documentary, "Dare Not Walk Alone"), with "footsoldiers monument" across the street ?

Why not (finally) implement the 2003 National Trust for Historic Preservation and Flagler College study on how to protect our history? Let's tax tourists more to fund historic preservation, as in Charleston/elsewhere.

Let's preserve/protect the quality of our lives and visitors' experience (and property values) by preserving forever what speculators haven't destroyed (yet).

Let's adopt a three-year moratorium on growth, while we work to adopt truly comprehensive plans worthy of the name.

Colonial National Historical Park (NHP), Philadelphia's Independence NHP and NHPs in Boston, New Bedford, Valley Forge, San Francisco and Saratoga.

There's a Martin Luther King historical site in Atlanta, NHPs for "Rosie the Riveter" (California) and the "War in the Pacific" (Guam), and new parks slated for ten Japanese internment camps.

Florida hosts Everglades, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks and Canaveral National Seashore. Let's add St. Augustine to the list.

From sea to shining sea, America's coastal areas enjoy national parks. Where's ours?

Let's make parts of State Road A1A a National Parkway and hiking/biking trail, like the Colonial National Historical Parkway and the Baltimore Washington, George Washington, Rock Creek and John D. Rockefeller (Wyoming) Parkways and the Appalachian Trial and C&O Canal.

Let's add St. Augustine to the list of our nation's most beloved national parks, joining Zion, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains.

Florida's 500th and St. Augustine's 450th anniversaries are only six and eight years away (2013 and 2015). Enacting a national park and seashore will forever preserve the treasures that we love. It will halt the sprawl we hate, increase tourism and reduce local taxes, paying speculators to stop.

Mayor Joe Boles' mother graciously thanked me for speaking out on these issues after the Jan. 22 City Commission meeting -- issues that Mrs. Boles has been outspoken about for "30 years." Let's honor/heed Mrs. Boles' wisdom -- and those who proposed a national park before World War II. Let's save St. Augustine and our environment forever.



Ed Slavin lives in St. Augustine.


Click here to return to story:
http://staugustine.com/stories/032607/opinions_4479465.shtml

© The St. Augustine Record

NPS: FAMOUS QUOTES CONCERNING THE NATIONAL PARKS

AN ACT TO IMPROVE THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL PARK SYSTEM

(General Authorities Act), 1970 (84 Stat. 825):

"...that the national park system, which began with establishment of Yellowstone National Park in 1872, has since grown to include superlative natural, historic, and recreation areas in every major region of the United States...; that these areas, though distinct in character, are united through their inter-related purposes and resources into one national park system as cumulative expressions of a single national heritage; that, individually and collectively, these areas derive increased national dignity and recognition of their superb environmental quality through their inclusion jointly with each other in one national park system preserved and managed for the benefit and inspiration of all the people of the United States...."

Stephen T. Mather, NPS Director, 1917-1929:

"The parks do not belong to one state or to one section.... The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida, as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona."

"Who will gainsay that the parks contain the highest potentialities of national pride, national contentment, and national health? A visit inspires love of country; begets contentment; engenders pride of possession; contains the antidote for national restlessness.... He is a better citizen with a keener appreciation of the privilege of living here who has toured the national parks."

Newton B. Drury, NPS Director, 1940-1951:

"The American way of life consists of something that goes greatly beyond the mere obtaining of the necessities of existence. If it means anything, it means that America presents to its citizens an opportunity to grow mentally and spiritually, as well as physically. The National Park System and the work of the National Park Service constitute one of the Federal Government's important contributions to that opportunity. Together they make it possible for all Americans--millions of them at first-hand--to enjoy unspoiled the great scenic places of the Nation.... The National Park System also provides, through areas that are significant in history and prehistory, a physical as well as spiritual linking of present-day Americans with the past of their country."

George B. Hartzog, Jr., NPS Director, 1964-1972:

"The national park idea has been nurtured by each succeeding generation of Americans. Today, across our land, the National Park System represents America at its best. Each park contributes to a deeper understanding of the history of the United States and our way of life; of the natural processes which have given form to our land, and to the enrichment of the environment in which we live."

Edwin C. Bearss, NPS Chief Historian, 1981-1994:

"As we Americans celebrate our diversity, so we must affirm our unity if we are to remain the 'one nation' to which we pledge allegiance. Such great national symbols and meccas as the Liberty Bell, the battlefields on which our independence was won and our union preserved, the Lincoln Memorial, the Statue of Liberty, the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, Yosemite, and numerous other treasures of our national park system belong to all of us, both legally and spiritually. These tangible evidences of our cultural and natural heritage help make us all Americans."

J. Horace McFarland, president, American Civic Assn., 1916:

"The parks are the Nation's pleasure grounds and the Nation's restoring places.... The national parks...are an American idea; it is one thing we have that has not been imported."

President Franklin D. Roosevelt:

"There is nothing so American as our national parks.... The fundamental idea behind the parks...is that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us."

Wallace Stegner, 1983:

"National parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst."

George M. Wright, Joseph S. Dixon, and Ben H. Thompson, Fauna of the National Parks of the United States, 1933.

"But our national heritage is richer than just scenic features; the realization is coming that perhaps our greatest national heritage is nature itself, with all its complexity and its abundance of life, which, when combined with great scenic beauty as it is in the national parks, becomes of unlimited value. This is what we would attain in the national parks."

Freeman Tilden to George B. Hartzog, Jr., ca. 1971

"I have always thought of our Service as an institution, more than any other bureau, engaged in a field essentially of morality--the aim of man to rise above himself, and to choose the option of quality rather than material superfluity."

Theodore Roosevelt, in The Outlook, February 3, 1912, p. 246. See, Paul Schullery, Theodore Roosevelt: Wilderness Writings, 142.

"The establishment of the National Park Service is justified by considerations of good administration, of the value of natural beauty as a National asset, and of the effectiveness of outdoor life and recreation in the production of good citizenship."

Frederick Law Olmsted, "The Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Big Trees," (1865), in Landscape Architecture 43:1 (October 1952).

"It is the will of the nation as embodied in the act of Congress [in setting aside the Yosemite government reservation in 1864] that this scenery shall never be private property, but that like certain defensive points upon our coast it shall be solely for public purposes.

Two classes of considerations may be assumed to have influenced the action of Congress. The first and less important is the direct and obvious pecuniary advantage which comes to a commonwealth from the fact that it possesses objects which cannot be taken out of its domain, that are attractive to travellers and the enjoyment of which is open to all.

A more important class of considerations, however, remains to be stated. These are considerations of a political duty of grave importance to which seldom if ever before has proper respect been paid by any government in the world but the grounds of which rest on the same eternal base of equity and benevolence with all other duties of republican government. It is the main duty of government, if it is not the sole duty of government, to provide means of protection for all its citizens in the pursuit of happiness against all the obstacles, otherwise insurmountable, which the selfishness of individuals or combinations of individuals is liable to interpose to that pursuit."

Joseph L. Sax, "America's National Parks: Their Principles, Purposes, and Prospects, Natural History, Supplement, October 1976.

"As Olmsted [FLO, Sr.] demonstrated, the question in a democratic society is not the acceptance or rejection of what the people want. People get the recreation that imaginative leadership gives them.... The essence of recreational policy in a democratic society, he believed, was the willingness to treat the ordinary citizen as something other than a passive customer to be managed and entertained. Olmsted based his theory of recreation on what he called "a faith in the refinement of the republic," a faith in the possibility of liberation from self-interested manipulation."

Stephen Mather, internal document, February 1925.

"The primary duty of the National Park Service is to protect the national parks and national monuments under its jurisdiction and keep them as nearly in their natural state as this can be done in view of the fact that access to them must be provided in order that they may be used and enjoyed. All other activities of the bureau must be secondary (but not incidental) to this fundamental function relating to care and protection of all areas subject to its control."

Biologist Charles C. Adams, in "Ecological Conditions in National Forests and in National Parks," The Scientific Monthly, June 1925.

"It is fortunate indeed that the forest service started with a distinct professional leadership and this was possible because European forestry was highly developed. But the idea of wild or wilderness national parks is a distinctly American idea and did not have a European tradition. The European tradition is about formal park design rather than large wild parks, such as our national parks. For this reason we must develop our own policies for the parks...."

Theodore Roosevelt Said it Best About Conservation of Natural Resources and the American Way of Life

"The conservation of natural resources is the fundamental problem. Unless we solve that problem it will avail us little to solve all others."
Address to the Deep Waterway Convention, Memphis, TN, October 4, 1907

"Optimism is a good characteristic, but if carried to an excess, it becomes foolishness. We are prone to speak of the resources of this country as inexhaustible; this is not so."
Seventh Annual Message to Congress, December 3, 1907

"We of an older generation can get along with what we have, though with growing hardship; but in your full manhood and womanhood you will want what nature once so bountifully supplied and man so thoughtlessly destroyed; and because of that want you will reproach us, not for what we have used, but for what we have wasted...So any nation which in its youth lives only for the day, reaps without sowing, and consumes without husbanding, must expect the penalty of the prodigal whose labor could with difficulty find him the bare means of life."
"Arbor Day - A Message to the School-Children of the United States" April 15, 1907

"There can be no greater issue than that of conservation in this country."
Confession of Faith Speech, Progressive National Convention, Chicago, IL, August 6, 1912

"Defenders of the short-sighted men who in their greed and selfishness will, if permitted, rob our country of half its charm by their reckless extermination of all useful and beautiful wild things sometimes seek to champion them by saying the 'the game belongs to the people.' So it does; and not merely to the people now alive, but to the unborn people. The 'greatest good for the greatest number' applies to the number within the womb of time, compared to which those now alive form but an insignificant fraction. Our duty to the whole, including the unborn generations, bids us restrain an unprincipled present-day minority from wasting the heritage of these unborn generations. The movement for the conservation of wild life and the larger movement for the conservation of all our natural resources are essentially democratic in spirit, purpose, and method."
A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open, 1916

"Thrice happy is the nation that has a glorious history. Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat."
"The Strenuous Life"

"Is America a weakling, to shrink from the work of the great world powers? No! The young giant of the West stands on a continent and clasps the crest of an ocean in either hand. Our nation, glorious in youth and strength, looks into the future with eager eyes and rejoices as a strong man to run a race."
Letter to John Hay, American Ambassador to the Court of St. James, London, Written in Washington, DC, June 7, 1897

"A healthy-minded boy should feel hearty contempt for the coward and even more hearty indignation for the boy who bullies girls or small boys, or tortures animals."..."What we have a right to expect of the American boy is that he shall turn out to be a good American man."
"The American Boy," St. Nicholas Magazine, May 1900

"There are good men and bad men of all nationalities, creeds and colors; and if this world of ours is ever to become what we hope some day it may become, it must be by the general recognition that the man's heart and soul, the man's worth and actions, determine his standing."
Letter, Oyster Bay, NY, September 1, 1903

"If a man does not have an ideal and try to live up to it, then he becomes a mean, base and sordid creature, no matter how successful."
Letter to his son Kermit, quoted in Theodore Roosevelt by Joseph Bucklin Bishop, 1915

"There are two things that I want you to make up your minds to: first, that you are going to have a good time as long as you live - I have no use for the sour-faced man - and next, that you are going to do something worthwhile, that you are going to work hard and do the things you set out to do."
Talk to schoolchildren in Oyster Bay, Christmastime 1898

"I have a perfect horror of words that are not backed up by deeds."
Oyster Bay, NY, July 7, 1915

"The object of government is the welfare of the people." "Conservation means development as much as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after us."
"The New Nationalism" speech, Osawatomie, Kansas, August 31, 1910

"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

"I don't think any President ever enjoyed himself more than I did. Moreover, I don't think any ex-President ever enjoyed himself more."... "Success - the real success - does not depend upon the position you hold, but upon how you carry yourself in that position."
University of Cambridge, England, May 26, 1910

"A vote is like a rifle: its usefulness depends upon the character of the user."
An Autobiography, 1913

"I have never in my life envied a human being who led an easy life; I have envied a great many people who led difficult lives and led them well."
Des Moines, Iowa, November 4, 1910

"The worst of all fears is the fear of living."
An Autobiography, 1913

"There were all kinds of things I was afraid of at first, ranging from grizzly bears to 'mean' horses and gun-fighters; but by acting as if I was not afraid I gradually ceased to be afraid."
An Autobiography, 1913

"To borrow a simile from the football field, we believe that men must play fair, but that there must be no shirking, and that the success can only come to the player who 'hits the line hard.' "
Sagamore Hill, Oyster Bay, NY, October 1897

"Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready."
San Francisco, CA, May 13, 1903

"Men with the muckrake are often indispensable to the well-being of society, but only if they know when to stop raking the muck." "An epidemic in indiscriminate assault upon character does not good, but very great harm." "There should be relentless exposure of and attack upon every evil practice, whether in politics, in business, or in social life. I hail as a benefactor every writer or speaker, every man who, on the platform, or in book, magazine or newspaper, with merciless severity makes such attack, provided always that he in his turn remembers that the attack is of use only if it is absolutely truthful."
Washington, DC, April 14, 1906


"This country will not be a permanently good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a reasonably good place for all of us to live in."
Chicago, IL, June 17, 1912

"There is not a man of us who does not at times need a helping hand to be stretched out to him, and then shame upon him who will not stretch out the helping hand to his brother."
Pasadena, CA, May 8, 1903

"Don't hit at all if you can help it; don't hit a man if you can possibly avoid it; but if you do hit him, put him to sleep."
New York City, February 17, 1899

"No man is above the law and no man is below it; nor do we ask any man's permission when we require him to obey it.""Obedience to the law is demanded as a right; not asked as a favor."
Third Annual Message to Congress, December 7, 1903

"It is true of the Nation, as of the individual, that the greatest doer must also be a great dreamer."
Berkeley, CA, 1911

"The bulk of government is not legislation but administration." "Men can never escape being governed. Either they must govern themselves or they must submit to being governed by others."
Jamestown, VA, April 26, 1907

"It is by no means necessary that a great nation should always stand at the heroic level. But no nation has the root of greatness in it unless in time of need it can rise to the heroic mood."
Fear God and Take Your Own Part, 1916

"This country has nothing to fear from the crooked man who fails. We put him in jail. It is the crooked man who succeeds who is a threat to this country."
Memphis, TN, October 25, 1905

"Alone of human beings the good and wise mother stands on a plane of equal honor with the bravest soldier; for she has gladly gone down to the brink of the chasm of darkness to bring back the children in whose hands rests the future of the years. "
The Great Adventure, 1918

"There is not in all America a more dangerous trait than the deification of mere smartness unaccompanied by any sense of moral responsibility."
Abilene, KS, May 2, 1903

It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
"Citizenship in a Republic,"
Speech at the Sorbonne, Paris, April 23, 1910

"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly, not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done." (1891)

"Criticism is necessary and useful; it is often indispensable; but it can never take the place of action, or be even a poor substitute for it. The function of the mere critic is of very subordinate usefulness. It is the doer of deeds who actually counts in the battle for life, and not the man who looks on and says how the fight ought to be fought, without himself sharing the stress and the danger." (1894)

"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards. More than that no man is entitled, and less than that no man shall have."
Speech to veterans, Springfield, IL, July 4, 1903

"We demand that big business give the people a square deal; in return we must insist that when anyone engaged in big business honestly endeavors to do right he shall himself be given a square deal."
Letter to Sir Edward Gray, November 15, 1913

"Be practical as well as generous in your ideals. Keep your eyes on the stars, but remember to keep your feet on the ground."
The Groton School, Groton, MA, May 24, 1904

Wikpedia: List of areas in the U.S. National Park System

List of areas in the United States National Park System
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
National Park Service logo.

The National Park System of the United States is the collection of physical properties owned or administered by the National Park Service. This includes all areas designated National Parks and most National Monuments, as well as several other types of protected areas of the United States.

As of 2010, there are 395 units of the National Park System. However, this number is somewhat misleading. For example: Denali National Park and Preserve is counted as two units, whereas Fort Moultrie is not counted as a unit because it is considered a feature of the Fort Sumter National Monument.

In addition to areas of the National Park System, the National Park Service also provides technical and financial assistance to several affiliated areas authorized by Congress. Affiliated areas are marked on the lists below.

The National Register of Historic Places is administered by the Park Service (with nearly 79,000 entries) and automatically includes all National Park System areas designated due to their historic significance. This includes all National Historical Parks/Historic Sites, National Battlefields/Military Parks, National Memorials, and some National Monuments.

Delaware is the only state without a unit of the National Park System. Units are found in all other states, in Washington, D.C., and in the U.S. territories of Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico.

Nearly all units managed by the National Park Service participate in the National Park Passport Stamps program.
Contents
[hide]

1 National Parks
1.1 Disbanded National Parks
2 National Monuments
2.1 Decommissioned National Monuments
3 National Preserves
4 National Historical Parks
4.1 Proposed National Historical Park
5 National Historic Sites
5.1 Disbanded National Historic Sites
5.2 Proposed National Historic Sites
6 International Historic Site
7 National Battlefield Parks
8 National Military Parks
8.1 Disbanded National Military Park
9 National Battlefields
10 National Battlefield Site
11 National Memorials
11.1 Disbanded National Memorials
11.2 Proposed National Memorials
12 National Recreation Areas
12.1 Disbanded National Recreation Areas
13 National Seashores
14 National Lakeshores
15 National Rivers
16 National Reserves
17 National Parkways
18 National Historic and Scenic Trails
19 National Cemeteries
19.1 Transferred National Cemeteries
20 National Heritage Areas
21 Other NPS Protected Areas and Administrative Groups
21.1 Disbanded Other Areas
22 See also
23 References
24 External links

[edit] National Parks
National Parks of the U.S.
Main article: List of National Parks of the United States

There are 58 officially-designated National Parks in the United States and its dependent areas.
North Cascades National Park, Washington
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Shenandoah National Park, Virginia
Great Smoky Mountains National Park, North Carolina / Tennessee
Arches National Park, Utah
Name Location Year Established
Acadia National Park Maine 1919
National Park of American Samoa American Samoa 1988
Arches National Park Utah 1971
Badlands National Park South Dakota 1978
Big Bend National Park Texas 1944
Biscayne National Park Florida 1980
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park Colorado 1999
Bryce Canyon National Park Utah 1928
Canyonlands National Park Utah 1964
Capitol Reef National Park Utah 1971
Carlsbad Caverns National Park New Mexico 1930
Channel Islands National Park California 1980
Congaree National Park South Carolina 2003
Crater Lake National Park Oregon 1902
Cuyahoga Valley National Park Ohio 2000
Death Valley National Park California, Nevada 1994
Denali National Park and Preserve Alaska 1917
Dry Tortugas National Park Florida 1992
Everglades National Park Florida 1947
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Glacier National Park (part of Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park) Montana 1910
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Grand Canyon National Park Arizona 1919
Grand Teton National Park Wyoming 1929
Great Basin National Park Nevada 1986
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Colorado 2004
Great Smoky Mountains National Park North Carolina, Tennessee 1934
Guadalupe Mountains National Park Texas 1966
Haleakala National Park Hawaii 1916
Hawaii Volcanoes National Park Hawaii 1916
Hot Springs National Park Arkansas 1921
Isle Royale National Park Michigan 1940
Joshua Tree National Park California 1994
Katmai National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Kenai Fjords National Park Alaska 1980
Kings Canyon National Park California 1940
Kobuk Valley National Park Alaska 1980
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Lassen Volcanic National Park California 1916
Mammoth Cave National Park Kentucky 1941
Mesa Verde National Park Colorado 1906
Mount Rainier National Park Washington 1899
North Cascades National Park Washington 1968
Olympic National Park Washington 1938
Petrified Forest National Park Arizona 1962
Redwood National and State Parks California 1968
Rocky Mountain National Park Colorado 1915
Saguaro National Park Arizona 1994
Sequoia National Park California 1890
Shenandoah National Park Virginia 1935
Theodore Roosevelt National Park North Dakota 1978
Virgin Islands National Park U.S. Virgin Islands 1956
Voyageurs National Park Minnesota 1975
Wind Cave National Park South Dakota 1903
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Alaska 1980
Yellowstone National Park Idaho, Montana, Wyoming 1872
Yosemite National Park California 1890
Zion National Park Utah 1919
[edit] Disbanded National Parks
Name Established Disbanded Result
Abraham Lincoln National Park July 17, 1916 August 11, 1939 redesignated Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park
Fort McHenry National Park March 3, 1925 August 11, 1939 redesignated, uniquely, Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
General Grant National Park October 1, 1890 March 4, 1940 incorporated into Kings Canyon National Park
Hawaii National Park August 1, 1916 September 13, 1960 divided into Hawaii Volcanoes National Park and Haleakala National Park
Mackinac National Park April 15, 1875 1895 now Mackinac Island State Park
Platt National Park June 29, 1906 March 17, 1976 now Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Sullys Hill National Park April 27, 1904 March 3, 1931 now Sullys Hill National Game Preserve (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)
[edit] National Monuments
Devils Tower National Monument, Wyoming
Statue of Liberty National Monument, New York
Natural Bridges National Monument, Utah
Muir Woods National Monument, California
Spider Rock in Canyon de Chelly
Main article: List of National Monuments of the United States

As of 2009, there are 100 U.S. National Monuments, of which 75 are administered by the NPS and are listed below. All except Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument are official units.
Name Location
African Burial Ground National Monument New York
Agate Fossil Beds National Monument Nebraska
Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument Texas
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Alaska
Aztec Ruins National Monument New Mexico
Bandelier National Monument New Mexico
Booker T. Washington National Monument Virginia
Buck Island Reef National Monument U.S. Virgin Islands
Cabrillo National Monument California
Canyon de Chelly National Monument Arizona
Cape Krusenstern National Monument and Archeological District Alaska
Capulin Volcano National Monument New Mexico
Casa Grande Ruins National Monument Arizona
Castillo de San Marcos National Monument Florida
Castle Clinton National Monument New York
Cedar Breaks National Monument Utah
Chiricahua National Monument Arizona
Colorado National Monument Colorado
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Idaho
Devils Postpile National Monument California
Devils Tower National Monument Wyoming
Dinosaur National Monument Utah / Colorado
Effigy Mounds National Monument Iowa
El Malpais National Monument New Mexico
El Morro National Monument New Mexico
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument Colorado
Fort Frederica National Monument Georgia
Fort Matanzas National Monument Florida
Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine Maryland
Fort Pulaski National Monument Georgia
Fort Stanwix National Monument New York
Fort Sumter National Monument South Carolina
Fort Union National Monument New Mexico
Fossil Butte National Monument Wyoming
George Washington Birthplace National Monument Virginia
George Washington Carver National Monument Missouri
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument New Mexico
Governors Island National Monument New York
Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument Arizona
Grand Portage National Monument Minnesota
Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument Idaho
Hohokam Pima National Monument Arizona
Homestead National Monument of America Nebraska
Hovenweep National Monument Colorado / Utah
Jewel Cave National Monument South Dakota
John Day Fossil Beds National Monument Oregon
Lava Beds National Monument California
Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument Montana
Montezuma Castle National Monument Arizona
Muir Woods National Monument California
Natural Bridges National Monument Utah
Navajo National Monument Arizona
Ocmulgee National Monument Georgia
Oregon Caves National Monument Oregon
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument Arizona
Petroglyph National Monument New Mexico
Pinnacles National Monument California
Pipe Spring National Monument Arizona
Pipestone National Monument Minnesota
Poverty Point National Monument Louisiana
Rainbow Bridge National Monument Utah
Russell Cave National Monument Alabama
Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument New Mexico
Scotts Bluff National Monument Nebraska
Statue of Liberty National Monument

Ellis Island

New York and New Jersey
Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument Arizona
Timpanogos Cave National Monument Utah
Tonto National Monument Arizona
Tuzigoot National Monument Arizona
Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument U.S. Virgin Islands
Walnut Canyon National Monument Arizona
White Sands National Monument New Mexico
World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument

USS Arizona Memorial

Hawaii, California, Alaska
Wupatki National Monument Arizona
Yucca House National Monument Colorado
[edit] Decommissioned National Monuments
Name Established Disbanded Result
Papago Saguaro National Monument January 31, 1914 April 7, 1930 Transferred to Arizona
Lewis and Clark Cavern National Monument May 11, 1908 August 24, 1937 Transferred to Montana
Father Millet Cross National Monument August 10, 1933 September 7, 1949 Transferred to New York
Wheeler National Monument December 7, 1908 August 3, 1950 Returned to United States Forest Service
Holy Cross National Monument May 11, 1929 August 3, 1950 Returned to United States Forest Service
Jackson Hole National Monument 1943 September 14, 1950 Now part of Grand Teton National Park
Shoshone Cavern National Monument September 21, 1909 May 17, 1954 Transferred to Cody, Wyoming.
Old Kasaan National Monument October 25, 1916 July 26, 1955 Transferred to United States Forest Service
Castle Pinckney National Monument August 10, 1933 March 29, 1956 Transferred to South Carolina
Verendrye National Monument June 29, 1917 July 30, 1956 Transferred to North Dakota
Fossil Cycad National Monument October 21, 1922 August 1, 1956 Transferred to Bureau of Land Management
Ackia Battlefield National Monument August 27, 1935 August 10, 1961 Incorporated into Natchez Trace Parkway
Meriwether Lewis National Monument February 6,1925 August 10, 1961 Incorporated into Natchez Trace Parkway
Petrified Forest National Monument December 8, 1906 December 9, 1962 Incorporated into Petrified Forest National Park
Mound City Group National Monument January 1, 1918 January 2, 1992 Incorporated into Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
Minidoka Internment National Monument January 17, 2001 May 8, 2008 Incorporated into Minidoka National Historic Site
[edit] National Preserves
Little River Canyon National Preserve

There are 18 national preserves.
Name Location
Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve Alaska
Bering Land Bridge National Preserve Alaska
Big Cypress National Preserve Florida
Big Thicket National Preserve Texas
Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve Idaho
Denali National Park and Preserve Alaska
Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve Alaska
Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve Alaska
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Colorado
Katmai National Park and Preserve Alaska
Lake Clark National Park and Preserve Alaska
Little River Canyon National Preserve Alabama
Mojave National Preserve California
Noatak National Preserve Alaska
Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve Kansas
Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve Florida
Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve Alaska
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve Alaska
[edit] National Historical Parks
The bell tower atop Independence Hall, formerly home to the Liberty Bell (Independence National Historical Park)

There are 45 National Historical Parks.
Name Location
Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historical Park Kentucky
Adams National Historical Park Massachusetts
Appomattox Court House National Historical Park Virginia
Boston National Historical Park Massachusetts
Cane River Creole National Historical Park Louisiana
Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park Virginia
Chaco Culture National Historical Park New Mexico
Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park District of Columbia, Maryland, West Virginia
Colonial National Historical Park

Cape Henry Memorial
Colonial Parkway
Jamestown National Historic Site (affiliated area)
Yorktown Battlefield
Yorktown National Cemetery

Virginia
Cumberland Gap National Historical Park Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia
Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park Ohio
George Rogers Clark National Historical Park Indiana
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park West Virginia
Hopewell Culture National Historical Park Ohio
Independence National Historical Park

Benjamin Franklin National Memorial (affiliated area)
Deshler-Morris House
Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church National Historic Site (affiliated area)
Independence Hall
National Constitution Center
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial

Pennsylvania
Jean Lafitte National Historical Park and Preserve

Chalmette National Cemetery

Louisiana
Kalaupapa National Historical Park Hawaii
Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historical Park Hawaii
Keweenaw National Historical Park Michigan
Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park (part of Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park) Alaska, Washington
Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Parks Oregon, Washington
Lowell National Historical Park Massachusetts
Lyndon B. Johnson National Historical Park Texas
Marsh-Billings-Rockefeller National Historical Park Vermont
Minute Man National Historical Park Massachusetts
Morristown National Historical Park New Jersey
Natchez National Historical Park Mississippi
New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park Massachusetts
New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park Louisiana
Nez Perce National Historical Park Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington
Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park Texas
Pecos National Historical Park New Mexico
Puʻuhonua o Hōnaunau National Historical Park Hawaii
Rosie the Riveter/World War II Home Front National Historical Park California
Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve U.S. Virgin Islands
San Antonio Missions National Historical Park Texas
San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park California
San Juan Island National Historical Park Washington
Saratoga National Historical Park New York
Sitka National Historical Park Alaska
Thomas Edison National Historical Park New Jersey
Tumacácori National Historical Park Arizona
Valley Forge National Historical Park Pennsylvania
War in the Pacific National Historical Park Guam
Women's Rights National Historical Park New York
[edit] Proposed National Historical Park
Name Law
Paterson Great Falls National Historical Park (authorized by Public Law 111-11 § 7001(b)(1)(B))
[edit] National Historic Sites
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site

The National Park Service administers most of the National Historic Sites. However, the U.S. Forest Service manages one, Grey Towers National Historic Site, and the BLM manages Fort Craig National Historic Site.

There are 89 National Historic Sites, of which 78 are NPS units and 11 are affiliated areas.
Name Location
Aleutian World War II National Historic Area (affiliated area) Alaska
Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Andersonville National Historic Site

Andersonville National Cemetery

Georgia
Andrew Johnson National Historic Site

Andrew Johnson National Cemetery

Tennessee
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site Colorado
Boston African American National Historic Site Massachusetts
Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site Kansas
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site North Carolina
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site Washington, D.C.
Charles Pinckney National Historic Site South Carolina
Chicago Portage National Historic Site (affiliated area) Illinois
Chimney Rock National Historic Site (affiliated area) Nebraska
Christiansted National Historic Site U.S. Virgin Islands
Clara Barton National Historic Site Maryland
Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Eisenhower National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site New York
Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site California
First Ladies National Historic Site Ohio
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site Washington, D.C.
Fort Bowie National Historic Site Arizona
Fort Davis National Historic Site Texas
Fort Laramie National Historic Site Wyoming
Fort Larned National Historic Site Kansas
Fort Point National Historic Site California
Fort Raleigh National Historic Site North Carolina
Fort Scott National Historic Site Kansas
Fort Smith National Historic Site Arkansas, Oklahoma
Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site North Dakota
Fort Vancouver National Historic Site

Fort Vancouver
McLoughlin House
Vancouver National Historic Reserve

Washington, Oregon
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site Washington, D.C.
Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site Massachusetts
Friendship Hill National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Gloria Dei (Old Swedes') Church National Historic Site (affiliated area) Pennsylvania
Golden Spike National Historic Site Utah
Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site Montana
Hampton National Historic Site Maryland
Harry S. Truman National Historic Site Missouri
Herbert Hoover National Historic Site Iowa
Historic Camden Revolutionary War Site (affiliated area) South Carolina
Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt National Historic Site New York
Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site Arizona
James A. Garfield National Historic Site Ohio
Jamestown National Historic Site (affiliated area) Virginia
Jimmy Carter National Historic Site Georgia
John Fitzgerald Kennedy National Historic Site Massachusetts
John Muir National Historic Site California
Kate Mullany National Historic Site (affiliated area) New York
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site North Dakota
Lincoln Home National Historic Site Illinois
Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site Arkansas
Longfellow House-Washington’s Headquarters National Historic Site Massachusetts
Lower East Side Tenement National Historic Site (affiliated area) New York
Maggie L. Walker National Historic Site Virginia
Manzanar National Historic Site California
Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site Georgia
Martin Van Buren National Historic Site New York
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site Washington, D.C.
Minidoka National Historic Site Idaho
Minuteman Missile National Historic Site South Dakota
Nicodemus National Historic Site Kansas
Ninety Six National Historic Site South Carolina
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site Washington, D.C.
President William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home National Historic Site Arkansas
Puʻukoholā Heiau National Historic Site Hawaii
Sagamore Hill National Historic Site New York
Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site New York
Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site New Hampshire
Salem Maritime National Historic Site Massachusetts
San Juan National Historic Site Puerto Rico
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site Colorado
Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site Massachusetts
Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site (affiliated area) Washington, D.C.
Springfield Armory National Historic Site Massachusetts
Steamtown National Historic Site Pennsylvania
Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site New York
Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site New York
Thomas Cole National Historic Site (affiliated area) New York
Thomas Stone National Historic Site Maryland
Touro Synagogue National Historic Site (affiliated area) Rhode Island
Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site Alabama
Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site Alabama
Ulysses S. Grant National Historic Site Missouri
Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site New York
Washita Battlefield National Historic Site Oklahoma
Weir Farm National Historic Site Connecticut
Whitman Mission National Historic Site Washington
William Howard Taft National Historic Site Ohio
[edit] Disbanded National Historic Sites
Name Established Disbanded Result
Atlanta Campaign National Historic Site October 13, 1944 September 21, 1950 transferred to state of Georgia.
Mar-A-Lago National Historic Site October 21, 1972 December 23, 1980 returned to Post Foundation.
McLoughlin House National Historic Site merged into Fort Vancouver National Historic Site.
St. Thomas National Historic Site December 24, 1960 February 5, 1975 transferred to Virgin Islands.
[edit] Proposed National Historic Sites
Name Law
Ronald Reagan Boyhood Home National Historic Site (authorized by Public Law 107-137)
[edit] International Historic Site
Name Location
Saint Croix Island International Historic Site Maine/New Brunswick
[edit] National Battlefield Parks
Malvern Hill, Richmond National Battlefield Park, Virginia
Name Location
Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park Georgia
Manassas National Battlefield Park Virginia
Richmond National Battlefield Park Virginia
River Raisin National Battlefield Park Michigan
[edit] National Military Parks
Vicksburg National Military Park
Name Location
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park Georgia, Tennessee
Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields Memorial National Military Park

Fredericksburg National Cemetery

Virginia
Gettysburg National Military Park

Gettysburg National Cemetery

Pennsylvania
Guilford Courthouse National Military Park North Carolina
Horseshoe Bend National Military Park Alabama
Kings Mountain National Military Park South Carolina
Pea Ridge National Military Park Arkansas
Shiloh National Military Park

Shiloh National Cemetery

Tennessee
Vicksburg National Military Park

Vicksburg National Cemetery

Mississippi, Louisiana
[edit] Disbanded National Military Park
Name Established Disbanded Result
Moores Creek National Military Park June 2, 1926 September 8, 1980 Redesignated Moores Creek National Battlefield
[edit] National Battlefields
Fort Donelson National Battlefield
Name Location
Antietam National Battlefield

Antietam National Cemetery

Maryland
Big Hole National Battlefield Montana
Cowpens National Battlefield South Carolina
Fort Donelson National Battlefield

Fort Donelson National Cemetery

Tennessee, Kentucky
Fort Necessity National Battlefield Pennsylvania
Monocacy National Battlefield Maryland
Moores Creek National Battlefield North Carolina
Petersburg National Battlefield

Poplar Grove National Cemetery

Virginia
Stones River National Battlefield

Stones River National Cemetery

Tennessee
Tupelo National Battlefield Mississippi
Wilson's Creek National Battlefield Missouri
[edit] National Battlefield Site
Name Location
Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site Mississippi
[edit] National Memorials
Lincoln Memorial
Oklahoma City National Memorial
Main article: List of National Memorials of the United States

There are 28 National Memorials that are NPS units and five affiliated national memorials.
Name Location
American Memorial Park (affiliated area) Northern Mariana Islands
Arkansas Post National Memorial Arkansas
Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial Virginia
Benjamin Franklin National Memorial (affiliated area) Pennsylvania
Chamizal National Memorial Texas
Coronado National Memorial Arizona
De Soto National Memorial Florida
Father Marquette National Memorial (affiliated area) Michigan
Federal Hall National Memorial New York
Flight 93 National Memorial Pennsylvania
Fort Caroline National Memorial Florida
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial Washington, D.C.
General Grant National Memorial New York
Hamilton Grange National Memorial New York
Jefferson National Expansion Memorial Missouri
Johnstown Flood National Memorial Pennsylvania
Korean War Veterans Memorial Washington, D.C.
Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial Indiana
Lincoln Memorial Washington, D.C.
Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac Washington, D.C.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Washington DC
Mount Rushmore National Memorial South Dakota
Oklahoma City National Memorial (affiliated area) Oklahoma
Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial Ohio
Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial California
Red Hill Patrick Henry National Memorial (affiliated area) Virginia
Roger Williams National Memorial Rhode Island
Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial Pennsylvania
Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial Washington, D.C.
Thomas Jefferson Memorial Washington, D.C.
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Washington, D.C.
Washington Monument Washington, D.C.
World War II Memorial Washington, D.C.
Wright Brothers National Memorial North Carolina
[edit] Disbanded National Memorials
Name Established Disbanded Result
New Echota Marker National Memorial August 10, 1933 September 21, 1950 transferred to state of Georgia.
[edit] Proposed National Memorials
Name Law
Adams Memorial (authorized by Public Law 107-62)
Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial (authorized by Public Law 107-117)
Mount Soledad National Memorial (authorized by Public Law 108-447)
[edit] National Recreation Areas
Lake Mead National Recreation Area

There are 18 National Recreation Areas.
Name Location
Amistad National Recreation Area Texas
Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area Montana, Wyoming
Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area Massachusetts
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Georgia
Chickasaw National Recreation Area Oklahoma
Curecanti National Recreation Area Colorado
Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area

Middle Delaware National Scenic River

New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Gateway National Recreation Area New York, New Jersey
Gauley River National Recreation Area West Virginia
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Utah, Arizona
Golden Gate National Recreation Area

Alcatraz Island
Presidio of San Francisco

California
Lake Chelan National Recreation Area Washington
Lake Mead National Recreation Area

Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument

Nevada, Arizona
Lake Meredith National Recreation Area Texas
Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area Washington
Ross Lake National Recreation Area Washington
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area California
Whiskeytown National Recreation Area California
[edit] Disbanded National Recreation Areas
Name Established Disbanded Result
Cuyahoga Valley National Rec. Area December 27, 1974 October 11, 2000 redesignated Cuyahoga Valley National Park
Shasta Lake Recreation Area May 22, 1945 July 1, 1948 transferred to Forest Service
Lake Texoma Recreation Area April 18, 1946 June 30, 1949 returned to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
Millerton Lake Recreation Area May 22, 1945 November 1, 1957 transferred to state of California
Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area July 22, 1963 October 1, 1968 transferred to Forest Service
Shadow Mountain Recreation Area June 27, 1952 March 1, 1979 transferred to Forest Service
[edit] National Seashores
Cape Hatteras National Seashore
Main article: List of United States National Lakeshores and Seashores

There are 10 National Seashores.
Name Location
Assateague Island National Seashore Maryland, Virginia
Canaveral National Seashore Florida
Cape Cod National Seashore Massachusetts
Cape Hatteras National Seashore North Carolina
Cape Lookout National Seashore North Carolina
Cumberland Island National Seashore Georgia
Fire Island National Seashore New York
Gulf Islands National Seashore Florida, Mississippi
Padre Island National Seashore Texas
Point Reyes National Seashore California
[edit] National Lakeshores
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
Main article: List of United States National Lakeshores and Seashores

There are four National Lakeshores, located in Michigan, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
Name Location
Apostle Islands National Lakeshore Wisconsin
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Indiana
Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore Michigan
Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore Michigan
[edit] National Rivers
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway

There are 5 National Rivers and 10 National Wild and Scenic Rivers administered as distinct units of the National Park System.
Name Location
Alagnak River Alaska
Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area Kentucky, Tennessee
Bluestone National Scenic River West Virginia
Buffalo National River Arkansas
Great Egg Harbor Scenic and Recreational River New Jersey
Middle Delaware National Scenic River New Jersey, Pennsylvania
Mississippi National River and Recreation Area Minnesota
Missouri National Recreational River Nebraska, South Dakota
New River Gorge National River West Virginia
Niobrara National Scenic River Nebraska
Obed Wild and Scenic River Tennessee
Ozark National Scenic Riverways Missouri
Rio Grande Wild and Scenic River Texas
Saint Croix National Scenic Riverway Wisconsin, Minnesota
Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River New York, Pennsylvania
[edit] National Reserves
City of Rocks National Reserve, Idaho, USA
Name Location
City of Rocks National Reserve Idaho
Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve Washington
New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve (affiliated area) New Jersey
[edit] National Parkways
Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia / North Carolina
Name Location
Baltimore-Washington Parkway (affiliated area) Maryland, Washington, D.C.
Blue Ridge Parkway Virginia, North Carolina
Colonial Parkway (part of Colonial National Historical Park) Virginia
Foothills Parkway (part of Great Smoky Mountains National Park) Tennessee
George Washington Memorial Parkway (In 1989, the Maryland and DC portions of the Parkway were renamed Clara Barton Parkway to overcome motorist confusion).

Claude Moore Colonial Farm
Glen Echo Park
Great Falls Park
Theodore Roosevelt Island National Memorial

Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C.
John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway Wyoming
Natchez Trace Parkway Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee
Oxon Run Parkway (affiliated area) Washington, D.C.
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway (affiliated area) Washington, D.C.
Suitland Parkway (affiliated area) Maryland
[edit] National Historic and Scenic Trails
Appalachian Trail

These National Park Service trails are part of the larger National Trails System. Only 3 of the trails are considered official units of the Park system.
Name Location
Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail Hawaii
Appalachian Trail (one of the 395 official units) Maine - Georgia
California National Historic Trail Missouri - California
Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Delaware - District of Columbia - Maryland - Virginia
El Camino Real de los Tejas National Historic Trail Louisiana - Texas
El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro National Historic Trail New Mexico
Ice Age National Scenic Trail Wisconsin
Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail Arizona - California
Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Missouri - Oregon
Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail Missouri - Utah
Natchez Trace Trail (one of the 395 official units) Mississippi - Tennessee
North Country National Scenic Trail New York - North Dakota
Old Spanish National Historic Trail New Mexico - California
Oregon National Historic Trail Missouri - Oregon
Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail Virginia - Tennessee - North Carolina - South Carolina
Pony Express National Historic Trail Missouri - California
Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail (one of the 395 official units) Virginia - Maryland - Pennsylvania - Washington, D.C.
Santa Fe National Historic Trail Missouri - New Mexico
Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail Alabama
Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trail District of Columbia - Maryland - Virginia
Trail of Tears National Historic Trail Tennessee - Oklahoma
[edit] National Cemeteries
Gettysburg National Cemetery

Most National Cemeteries are administered by the Department of Veterans Affairs, although a few are managed by the National Park Service and the U.S. Army. None of the cemeteries are considered official units of the system; they are all affiliated with other parks.
Name Location
Andersonville National Cemetery Georgia
Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery Illinois
Andrew Johnson National Cemetery Tennessee
Antietam National Cemetery Maryland
Arlington National Cemetery Virginia
Battleground National Cemetery Washington, D.C.
Chalmette National Cemetery Louisiana
Custer National Cemetery Montana
Fort Donelson National Cemetery Tennessee
Fredericksburg National Cemetery Virginia
Gettysburg National Cemetery Pennsylvania
Poplar Grove National Cemetery Virginia
Shiloh National Cemetery Tennessee
Stones River National Cemetery Tennessee
Vicksburg National Cemetery Mississippi
Yorktown National Cemetery Virginia
[edit] Transferred National Cemeteries
Name Established Disbanded Result
Chattanooga National Cemetery August 10, 1933 December 7, 1944 returned to War Department
[edit] National Heritage Areas

See also:
U.S. National Heritage Areas

The National Park Service provides limited assistance to National Heritage Areas, but does not administer them.
[edit] Other NPS Protected Areas and Administrative Groups
National Mall

There are 10 NPS units of other designations, as well as other affiliated areas. The National Mall and National Capital Parks have many sites, some of which are also units of other designations and some are also National Historic Sites.
Name Location
Catoctin Mountain Park Maryland
Ice Age National Scientific Reserve (affiliated area) Wisconsin
International Peace Garden (affiliated area) North Dakota/Manitoba
Inupiat Heritage Center (affiliated area) Alaska
Maine Acadian Culture (affiliated area) Maine
National Capital Parks-East

Anacostia Park
Baltimore-Washington Parkway
Capitol Hill Parks
Carter G. Woodson Home National Historic Site
Fort Dupont Park
Fort Foote Park
Fort Washington Park (official unit of other designation)
Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
Greenbelt Park (official unit of other designation)
Harmony Hall (Fort Washington, Maryland)
Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens
Mary McLeod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
Oxon Run Parkway (affiliated area)
Piscataway Park (official unit of other designation)
Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site (affiliated area)
Suitland Parkway

Washington, D.C./Maryland
National Mall and Memorial Parks (National Capital Parks-Central)

African American Civil War Memorial
Constitution Gardens (official unit of other designation)
East Potomac Park
Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
George Mason Memorial
Thomas Jefferson Memorial
John Ericsson National Memorial
Korean War Veterans Memorial
Lincoln Memorial
National Mall
Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
Old Post Office Pavilion
United States Navy Memorial
Vietnam Veterans Memorial
Washington Monument
West Potomac Park

Washington, D.C.
New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route (affiliated area) New Jersey
White House

President's Park

Washington, D.C.
Prince William Forest Park Virginia
Rock Creek Park

Dumbarton Oaks Park
Battleground National Cemetery
Meridian Hill Park
Old Stone House
Peirce Mill
Rock Creek and Potomac Parkway

Washington, D.C.
Roosevelt Campobello International Park (affiliated area) New Brunswick
Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Virginia

There are also various administrative groups of listed parks, such as Manhattan Sites, National Parks of New York Harbor, and Western Arctic National Parklands. The NPS also owns conservation easements (but not the land itself) for part of the area called the Green Springs National Historic Landmark District.
[edit] Disbanded Other Areas
Name Established Disbanded Result
National Visitor Center, Washington, D.C. March 12, 1968 December 29, 1981 transferred to Department of Transportation.
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts June 16, 1972 July 21, 1994 transferred to Kennedy Center Trustees.
[edit] See also

List of the United States National Park System official units (the 394)
List of all national parks of the world
List of U.S. state parks
United States Memorials
National Park Passport Stamps
List of National Natural Landmarks
List of tourist attractions worldwide

[edit] References

Bureau Historian (2006). "Former National Park System Units: An Analysis".
National Park Service. "National Monument Proclamations under the Antiquities Act"
National Park Service Office of Public Affairs (2009). "Units in the National Park System". Last November 5, 2009. (Lists 392 NPS units by classification).

[edit] External links

Alphabetical list of places at the National Park Service website
Former National Park System Units: An Analysis
National Park Service
National Park Foundation
Parks by Date of Establishment
United States National Parks travel guide from Wikitravel
America's Hidden Treasures, an essay on the lesser known National Parks
[1] The National Park Travelers Club - an organization of individuals attempting to visit all units of the NPS