12 - Parks, Recreation, and Open Space

Question 1

_________ was the first national park, designated in 1872.

Answer 1

Yellowstone

Question 2

The National Park Service was created in 1916 when President Woodrow Wilson signed the ______________

Answer 2

Organic Act of 1916.

An Organic Act is an act that establishes a territory or an agency to manage federal lands.

Question 3

John Muir

Answer 3

• Early advocate for the creation of a national park system.
• He wrote extensively for popular publications, bringing national attention to sites that would ultimately become national parks, including Glacier Bay and Mount Rainier.
• He also championed protecting the Petrified Forest and the Grand Canyon.

Question 4

________created five national parks and signed the Antiquities Act in 1906, which created 18 national monuments, including the Grand Canyon. He created 51 federal bird sanctuaries, four national game refuges, and more than 100 million acres of national forests.

Answer 4

Theodore Roosevelt

Question 5

____________dramatically improved national parks through the Civilian Conservation Corps, which was set up during the depression. There was also an expansion of the park system under FDR, including the addition of civil war battlefields and the Lincoln Memorial into the care of the National Park system. He also helped create Olympic and Kings Canyon National Parks, and directed funds to purchase land to create the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (the first time federal funds were used to purchase park land).

Answer 5

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Question 6

The Historic Sites Act of 1935

Answer 6

The Historic Sites Act of 1935 sought to organize federally owned parks, monuments, and historic sites under the National Park Service. It also declared a national policy to preserve historic sites, buildings, and objects of national importance for public use.

Question 7

The Wilderness Act of 1964

Answer 7

The Wilderness Act of 1964 created the National Wilderness Preservation System. The act defined wilderness as “an area of undeveloped Federal land retailing its primeval character and influence without permanent improvements or human habitation.” According to the National Park Service, as of 2016, there are more than 106 million acres of federal public lands designated as wilderness

Question 8

The National Wild and Scenic River Act of 1968

Answer 8

The National Wild and Scenic River Act of 1968 seeks to preserve rivers with outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values in a free-flowing condition for the enjoyment of current and future generations. Wild and scenic rivers are designated by Congress. As of 2018, the National System protected 12,754 miles on 209 rivers in 40 states and Puerto Rico.