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National Parks, Forests, & More
Together, our National Parks and National Forests are — in my opinion — the eighth wonder of the world. Oftentimes, people think about the Parks and Forests in one of two ways:
They are the same thing. (They aren’t.) OR
The National Forests are the ugly stepchild to the far superior National Parks. (Also wrong.)
SO WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Thank you for asking! Management.
Both are federally managed public lands, but the National Park Service is managed by the US Department of the Interior and the US Forest Services is managed by the US Department of Agriculture.
REGARDLESS, BOTH ARE AWESOME!
The National Park Service (NPS) as we know it was created when President Woodrow Wilson signed the “Organic Act” on August 25, 1916. From massive National Parks like Denali and Wrangell-St. Elias, to small (but infamous) National Recreation Areas like Alcatraz, the National Park system protects and preserves our country’s most beautiful outdoor spaces, serves as a living archive of historical places and events, and provides countless opportunities for all to adventure, recreate, learn, explore, discover, and more.
Today, the NPS manages 423 individual units (generically referred to as ‘parks’) covering more than 85 million acres in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and US territories.
The US Forest Service’s (USFS) is less exciting. In 1876, Congress gave the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) an office whose purpose was to assess the quality and conditions of forests in the US. (Sounds fun, huh?) Then, in 1881, the USDA expanded the office by creating the Division of Forestry. (Also not very exciting.) Finally, in 1891, Congress passed the Forest Reserve Act, which authorized the President to designate public lands into what they called “forest reserves” and essentially the USFS was born. (Very exciting.)
Today, the USFS manages 155 forests and 20 grasslands encompassing 192+ million acres across 43 states, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. This equates to 8.5% of the total US land area and 20% of its forestland.
{Doing some quick math here…}
There are 598 National Parks, Forests, Monuments, Places, Recreation Areas, Grasslands, Historic sites, and more!!
AND I WANT TO VISIT THEM ALL!!! Except the grasslands — I am allergic to grass.
Follow along as Trudy, Tiny, & I go from super cool place to super cool place. Also, I’ve listed all of the National Parks & Forests with links to their official Park or Forest Service websites so you can plan your next adventure too!