122 ***** "Oh, Ranger!" 



Less than two years later, on March 1, 1872, Congress created 

 Yellowstone National Park, setting aside an area approximately 62 

 miles long and 54 miles wide, consisting of 3,348 square miles, or 

 2,142,720 acres, "for the benefit and enjoyment of the people forever." 



It is true that the area which is now Hot Springs National Park 

 had been set aside for the public benefit forty years before, but a national 

 park was not created at that time. Likewise, in 1864 Congress had 

 passed an act turning over to the state of California the areas that are 

 in Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees, but the 

 Yosemite National Park was not created until 1890 when another act 

 of Congress set aside the great area of high mountain peaks, glaciers, 

 forests, valleys, and waterfalls of the Sierra Nevada, approximately 

 the present area of Yosemite Park. Curiously enough, by that time the 

 federal government had lost control of Yosemite Valley and the Mari 

 posa Grove of Big Trees, the two outstanding attractions of Yosemite 

 Park. They had been ceded to the state and were administered by state 

 officials. This division led to many disputes, culminating in a disagree 

 ment over which group of authorities should fight a forest fire on the 

 wall of Yosemite Valley halfway between Yosemite Valley, the state's 

 domain, and the rim, under control of federal authorities. While the 

 dispute continued, the fire raged, doing considerable damage, and rous 

 ing public indignation. This led to the popular demand for one authority 

 in Yosemite, and in 1906 the state ceded the valley back to the federal 

 government. 



Sequoia and General Grant National parks were established by 

 Congress in 1890 to preserve the choice groves of big trees, among 

 them the General Sherman Tree, generally conceded to be the largest 

 in the world. Mount Rainier National Park was formed in 1899, 

 Crater Lake in 1902, Platt Park in 1903, Wind Cave in 1903, Sullys 

 Hill in 1904, Mesa Verde in 1906, Glacier Park in 1910, Rocky Moun 

 tain in 1915, Hawaii and Lassen Volcanic parks in 1916, Mount Mc- 

 Kinley in 1917, and Grand Canyon, Lafayette (now Acadia), and Zion 

 in 1919. Bryce Canyon became a national park in September, 1928, and 

 Grand Teton National Park was established on February 26, 1929. The 

 other proposed national parks, indorsed by the National Park Service, 

 include the National Park of the Cliff Cities in New Mexico, the Great 

 Smoky National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, and the Shen- 

 andoah Park in western Virginia. A Redwood National Park in north 

 ern California is also a possibility, although the redwood park areas may 

 all be preserved as part of the California state park system. As a general 

 policy, the National Park Service encourages and assists state authorities 

 in any way possible in the development of state parks, though the federal 

 government has no jurisdiction over them. 



