Meltwater from Grinnell, Gem, and Salamander Glaciers feeds the teal lakes of Grinnell Valley in the Many Glacier area of Glacier National Park. (NPS/Tim Rains)
As the nation celebrates the legacy of President Jimmy Carter, here’s a fact I’ve not seen: Carter signed off on the Congressionally approved creation of 11 national parks, more than any other president:
* Theodore Roosevelt (November 1978)
* Badlands (November 1978)
* Channel Islands (March 1980)
* Biscayne (June 1980)
* Wrangell-St. Elias (December 1980)
* Lake Clark (December 1980)
* Kobuk Valley (December 1980)
* Kenai Fjords (December 1980)
* Katmai (December 1980)
* Glacier Bay (December 1980)
* Gates of the Arctic (December 1980)
Those Alaska parks were all in one day, but that’s still an impressive list!
How many national parks did other presidents create during their terms?
8: FDR
7: Wilson
5: Clinton
4: Trump
3: Johnson, Nixon
2: Kennedy, Reagan, G.W. Bush
1: Eisenhower, Ford, G.H.W. Bush and probably Coolidge since Hot Springs became a national park on the final day of his administration.
* Theodore Roosevelt (November 1978)
* Badlands (November 1978)
* Channel Islands (March 1980)
* Biscayne (June 1980)
* Wrangell-St. Elias (December 1980)
* Lake Clark (December 1980)
* Kobuk Valley (December 1980)
* Kenai Fjords (December 1980)
* Katmai (December 1980)
* Glacier Bay (December 1980)
* Gates of the Arctic (December 1980)
Those Alaska parks were all in one day, but that’s still an impressive list!
How many national parks did other presidents create during their terms?
8: FDR
7: Wilson
5: Clinton
4: Trump
3: Johnson, Nixon
2: Kennedy, Reagan, G.W. Bush
1: Eisenhower, Ford, G.H.W. Bush and probably Coolidge since Hot Springs became a national park on the final day of his administration.
Dripstone inside one of Great Basin National Park's caves. Part of the park was protected as Lehman Caves National Monument in 1922. (NPS photo)
Kilik River, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve (NPS photo)
Alabama's Selma to Montgomery National Historic Trail spans the 54 miles traveled by civil rights pioneers in March 1965 to gather the world’s attention on the injustices inflicted on African Americans, particularly in the South. Later that year, the Voting Rights Act began to address those injustices and imbalances, but decades later, racism and the fight to end its ugly scourge continue. There are still those who deny equality to some. Progress has been made, but more is needed.
Isle au Haut in Acadia National Park (National Park Service/Jane Gamble)
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Look for a new post almost every day. Regular features include:
- A new National Park photo each Monday;
- National Park birthdays;
- News stories from the communities that love and protect their neighborhood national parks;
- National news stories that affect our parks and the people who care for them;
- Tidbits about acquisitions or fun stories on National Park Service units that may not be national parks;
- Articles about environmental or ecological changes, both natural and humanmade, that are changing our parks;
- Stories of where people find inspiration in national parks, whether it’s personal revelations, career choices, or the idea to create a new National Parks font.
There are times when not everything is so rosy (see: federal shutdowns), but we work to keep it upbeat, because we know how incredibly awesome America’s national parks are!
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