gmhTODAY 10 gmhToday Sept Oct 2016 | Page 84

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 gmhtoday.com