Nature and Conservation

John Robinson Jeffers was born on January 10, 1887, in Allegheny, Pennsylvania. He was a prolific, yet controversial poet who captured the natural beauty surrounding his home in Carmel, California.

Artist Albert Bierstadt was born on January 7, 1830, in Solingen, Germany.  He was the most successful of the Hudson River School Artists and his paintings of the American West helped inspire increased settlement. 

On December 6, 1947, President Harry Truman presided over the dedication of Florida’s Everglades National Park.  It’s the largest tropical wilderness in the United States and the third largest park in the country. 

On December 2, 1980, President Jimmy Carter established Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve in Alaska. Today the park is part of one of the world’s largest international protected areas.

On November 27, 1932, the Bixby Creek Bridge opened on the Big Sur coast of California. It was the longest concrete arch span in California and the highest single-span arch bridge in the world at the time of its completion.

On November 10, 1978, Theodore Roosevelt National Park was established on North Dakota. Roosevelt’s time in the Badlands inspired his conservation efforts as president, establishing over 200 protected areas.

On October 27, 1986, Great Basin National Park was established in Nevada.  The park protects ancient bristlecone pines, Wheeler Peak Glacier, and more.

Effigy Mounds National Monument in Iowa was established on October 25, 1949. The monument protects and interprets the history behind about 200 mounds built by Native Americans centuries ago.

On October 23, 1972, Cumberland Island National Seashore was officially established in Georgia. Cumberland Island is the largest sea island in the southeastern United States and the most biodiverse of Georgia’s barrier islands.