The U.S. National Park Service is celebrating its 100th birthday.
America’s 28th President, Woodrow Wilson, formed the National Park Service on August 25, 1916 to “protect the wild and wonderful landscapes” in the United States.
One hundred years later, the organization manages nearly 34 million hectares of land.
The National Park Service oversees more than 400 parks, historic sites, monuments and other areas.
The newest national park is in the northeast state of Maine. President Barack Obama created the park on Wednesday.
It is called the Katahdin Woods and Waters National Monument.
A family that started a successful business making skin care products donated the land.
The land is home to moose, black bears, coyotes, deer, bobcats, snowshoe hares, fisher cats, bald eagles and Canada lynx.
Some national parks are well over 100 years old. Yellowstone National Park in the western United States was established in 1872 as the first national park in America. It was also the world’s first national park.
I’m Dan Friedell.
Dan Friedell wrote this story for VOA Learning English. Mario Ritter was the editor.
Will you visit a national park in the U.S. this year? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section or on WWW.VOA-STORY.COM.
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Words in This Story
landscape – n. an area of land that has a particular quality or appearance
manage – v. to have control of (something, such as a business, department, sports team, etc.)