| People Who Helped Create Parks as America's Best Idea This year, on August 26, the National Park Service will turn 93 years old and it’s an especially exciting birthday because of noted filmmaker Ken Burns’ upcoming weeklong series “The National Park Service: America’s Best idea,” which will debut in September. The six-episode documentary borrows its title from the late naturalist, writer, and historian Wallace Stegner’s famous reference to the national parks as “the best idea we ever had.” Stegner is one of many people, both famous and unknown, who have developed a passion for this uniquely American institution. Who are some of the others? This August and September, the National Park Service’s Cultural Resource staff of historians and preservationists will offer an in-depth look at some of our most important contributors. The visionaries who came before us had groundbreaking ideas – not only about preserving our crown jewels, but also extending the National Park Service’s mission to some of the nation’s other uniquely American treasures. Because of them, the agency today manages a range of cultural sites including monuments, parkways, battlefields, cemeteries, and recreation areas. This rich variety has created a portfolio of over 390 parks, all with their own special contribution to the American story. Today’s National Park Service staff – a team of unsung heroes – quietly continue the same mission as the parks earliest stewards, and behind every park ranger is a diverse work force of equally dedicated persons. Rangers lead tours, provide for visitor safety, and ensure these precious resources are left unscathed for future generations to enjoy. Others maintain, clean, and repair our parks. And even further behind the scenes, a legion of historic preservationists, archeologists, and ecologists strive to discover more of America’s past, so that it can be passed on to the future. Today’s park service reaches far beyond just the parks, providing expertise in cooperative efforts with state, local, and private groups to document and preserve heritage areas, national historic register properties, national historic sites, Native American artifacts and graves. |
Weekly spotlight (September 28 - October 4) Freeman Tilden - Father of National Park Service interpretation
| Other Weekly Spotlights | |||
 John Muir Aug 9 - 15 |
 Teddy Roosevelt Aug 16 - 22 |
 Marjory Douglas Aug 23 - 30 |
 Stephen Mather Aug 31 - Sept 5 |
 Charles Young Sept 6 - 12 |
 Enos Mills Sept 13 - 19 |
 George Wright Sept 20 - 27 |
 Freeman Tilden Sept 28 - Oct 4 |
Learn More About People in the National Park Service
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