Wide open spaces

The National Park System has gotten plenty of visitors since its inception in 1916

By CASEY RESSLER -- Valley Life editor

In 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed an act that established the National Park Service. Since then, millions of people have visited national parks and historic areas in America.

The act Wilson signed designated the National Parks Service as an office of the Department of the Interior. The government's aim, as stated in the National park Service Organic Act of 1916, was to "conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment for the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

Today, more than 83 million acres of the country are part of the U.S National Parks System, and that represents 378 areas from sea to shining sea. Delaware is the only state that does not contain an area that is part of the National Park System.

The largest area in the National Parks System is right here in Alaska. The Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve contains 13,200,000 acres -- which comprises 16.3 percent of the entire system.

By contrast, the smallest area isn't a national park, but it is a historical spot. The Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial is .02 acres, and commemorates the life and work of a Polish patriot who was a hero in the American Revolution.

National parks are at the heart of the National Parks System, but it is much more than areas like Denali National Park and Preserve that complete the system. Since 1933, historical site and national memorials were included in the National Parks System.

All of the areas get much use from the public. In 2001, there were 279,873,926 recreational visits made to the National Parks System. Putting that in perspective is the fact that the entire population of the United States is little more than 280 million.