Morgan Hill
On the Occasion of the Centennial
of the National Park Service
T
his year we celebrate the 100 th anniversary
of the National Park Service as an agency
within the United States Department of
the Interior. On August 25, 1916, then President
Woodrow Wilson signed what is known as the
Organic Act transferring the responsibility for
managing designated Federal parkland from the
Secretary of the Army to the National Park Service
(NPS). The purpose: “conserving the scenery and
the natural and historic objects and the wild-
life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of
the same in such a manner and by such means
as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoy-
ment of future generations.” The early history
of Yosemite, Yellowstone, Sequoia and a handful
of other national parks thus includes a well-
deserved mention of the members of the U.S. Army
Cavalry and Engineers who were the onsite park
administrators until the outbreak of World War I.
Written By Mike Monroe
84
GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2016
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