• Image of Mount McKinley and the Alaska Range

    Denali

    National Park & Preserve Alaska

Enabling Legislation

An Act of Congress designated this park in 1917, originally naming it Mount McKinley National Park. Congress "established [the park] as a game refuge," and instructed park managers to craft "regulations being primarily aimed at the freest use of the said park for recreation purposes by the public and for the preservation of animals, birds, and fish and for the preservation of the natural curiosities and scenic beauties thereof." (cf. Sections 5 & 6 of the Act of 1917, linked below).

Over the years, additional Acts impacted the size and management of the park, most significantly the passage of ANILCA (Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act) in 1980. The passage of ANILCA tripled the park's size, and renamed it Denali National Park and Preserve.

Links below will take you to other government websites that more fully describe these various Acts of Congress.

 

Click here to read: U.S. Statutes at Large, Vol. 39, Part 1, Chap. 121, pp. 938-39. "An Act To establish the Mount McKinley National Park, in the Territory of Alaska." S. 5716; Public Act No. 353

Or, download a PDF extract of the Denali-specific information from this Act and an extract of the 1932 Act which modified the boundaries of the park.

 

You can read ANILCA electronically on a part of the Alaska state government website.

Did You Know?

This slump occurred as underlying permafrost melted

Warmer temperatures have led to dramatic thawing of permafrost. Thaw releases carbon, as once-frozen materials decompose, but allows increased plant growth. Researchers in Denali are studying whether thawing permafrost will increase or decrease world-wide carbon emissions.