Nature and Conservation

America’s 36th President, Lyndon Baines Johnson, was born on August 27, 1908, in Stonewall, Texas. President Johnson promoted a “Great Society” and signed many initiatives into law aimed at civil rights, public broadcasting, health, education, the arts, and public services.

Decades after the first national park was created, the National Park Service (NPS) was officially established on August 25, 1916. The service has grown to include over 400 areas, covering over 84 million acres.

On August 1, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson established Hawaii National Park – America’s 11th national park and the first established in a US territory. The name was later changed to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.

On July 15, 1885, The Niagara Reservation State Park (later renamed Niagara Falls State Park) became America’s first state park.

On June 30, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln signed the Yosemite Land Grant. This made Yosemite Valley the first piece of land set aside by the US government for preservation and public use.

On June 29, 1906, President Theodore Roosevelt established Mesa Verde National Park, the first American park created to “preserve the works of man.”  It’s since been called “the best cultural attraction” in the Western United States.

Cumberland Gap National Historical Park was established on June 11, 1940, along the Kentucky-Virginia border. The park preserves and honors the “first great gateway to the West.”

On May 20, 2018, the United Nations declared the first World Bee Day, to bring attention to the importance of bees and the plights they face. This date was chosen because it is considered the birthday of Slovenian beekeeping pioneer Anton Janša.

On May 14, 1930, Carlsbad Caverns National Park was officially created in New Mexico. The park is home to the largest limestone chamber in North America, known as the Big Room.