Preserving America’s Wonder: The Birth of the National Park Service

It was a summer day in Washington, D.C., when President Woodrow Wilson signed a brief but powerful act into law. The date was August 25, 1916, and the law created something entirely new, an agency whose mission was not war or commerce, but conservation.

With the stroke of a pen, the National Park Service was born.

This was not just a bureaucratic change. It was a commitment, a promise that the natural beauty, history, and wildlife of the United States would be protected not only for those alive in 1916 but for generations yet to come.

The Idea That Nature Should Be Preserved

The National Park Service did not come out of nowhere. The idea of preserving wild land had been building for decades. In 1872, Congress created Yellowstone National Park, setting aside more than two million acres of land in the territories of Wyoming and Montana. It was the first national park in the world.

At the time, this was a radical idea. In most countries, wilderness was something to be conquered, not preserved. But in the American West, people had begun to see the towering peaks, open plains, and deep forests not just as resources, but as treasures worth saving.

As more parks were created, including Yosemite, Sequoia, and Mount Rainier, there was still no single agency in charge of them. Some were overseen by the War Department, others by the Department of the Interior, and many lacked staff, funding, or consistent protection. Poachers, loggers, and developers continued to threaten parklands.

The need for a unified service grew clearer each year.

A Movement Gains Strength

By the early 20th century, the fight to create a National Park Service had become a national cause. At the center of the movement was a man named Stephen T. Mather, a wealthy businessman and conservationist. After visiting Yosemite and being appalled by its neglect, he wrote to the Secretary of the Interior to complain. The response was simple: “If you don’t like the way the parks are run, come to Washington and run them yourself.”

Mather took that invitation seriously. In 1915, he joined the Interior Department and began organizing a campaign to create a dedicated agency to oversee the parks. He enlisted allies from newspapers, railroads, and businesspeople who believed that preserving nature was not only right but also good for the country’s spirit and economy.

With Mather leading the charge, Congress finally passed the Organic Act of 1916. The act created the National Park Service within the Department of the Interior and gave it a clear mission: “to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein, and to provide for the enjoyment of the same… by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations.”

A Quiet Beginning, a Lasting Legacy

When President Wilson signed the act into law on August 25, 1916, the new agency oversaw 35 national parks and monuments. Stephen Mather became the first director of the National Park Service. He believed that parks should be both protected and made accessible so that railroads, roads, and hotels could coexist with preservation, as long as development was guided by care and purpose.

Under Mather’s leadership, the Park Service grew rapidly. Rangers were hired. Trails and campgrounds were built. Visitor centers were opened. The American people began to see their parks not as distant wilderness but as national treasures within reach.

Over time, the mission of the Park Service expanded. In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed an executive order transferring many historic sites, including battlefields and monuments, into the National Park Service. Today, the system includes more than 400 units—not just national parks  but historic sites, scenic rivers, seashores, memorials, and more.

More Than Just Pretty Landscapes

The National Park Service is about more than beautiful views. It is also about memory, identity, and justice. In recent decades, the agency has worked to tell a fuller story of America. That includes preserving sites tied to Native American history, the Civil Rights Movement, immigration, slavery, and labor struggles.

Places like Manzanar National Historic Site, which tells the story of Japanese American internment during World War II, or Pullman National Historical Park in Chicago, which honors the roots of the Black labor movement, remind visitors that the Park Service protects not only places of natural wonder, but places where America has wrestled with its values.

Why August 25 Still Matters

The founding of the National Park Service marked the beginning of a promise  that America’s most cherished places would not be sold, paved, or lost to time. The idea was simple but profound: that a nation could grow and prosper while still setting aside space for reflection, learning, and awe.

Each year, on August 25, the Park Service celebrates its birthday. It is a day to remember not just the law that created it, but the deeper belief behind it that the wild places, the sacred sites, and the shared history of a people are worth protecting, not just for today, but for all the tomorrows to come.