IV 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 421 

Recognizing and commending the Great Smoky Mountains National Park 

on its 75th year anniversary. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 7, 2009 

Mr. ROE of Tennessee (for himself and Mr. DUNCAN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing and commending the Great Smoky Mountains 

National Park on its 75th year anniversary. 

Whereas groups of local citizens and officials in western 

North Carolina and east Tennessee in the 1920s displayed enormous foresight in recognizing the potential 

benefits of a national park in the southern Appalachians; 

Whereas the boundaries and location of said park were selected from among the finest examples of the most scenic 

and intact mountain forests in the Southeast; 

Whereas its creation was the product of over two decades of 

determined effort by leaders of communities across western North Carolina and east Tennessee; 

Whereas the State Assemblies and the Governors of those two 

States exercised great vision in appropriating funding, 


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•HRES 421 IH 

along with the Laura Spellman Rockefeller Memorial 

Fund for the purchase of the over 400,000 acres of private lands which had been accumulated; 

Whereas the citizens of surrounding communities generously 

contributed to that land acquisition funding to bring the 

park into being; 

Whereas over 1,100 families and other property owners were 

called upon to sacrifice their farms and homes for the 

benefit and enjoyment of future generations; 

Whereas Great Smoky Mountains National Park was created 

by Congress on June 15, 1934; 

Whereas Great Smoky Mountains National Park covers approximately 521,621 acres of land, in both Tennessee 

and North Carolina making it the largest protected areas 

in the Eastern United States; 

Whereas the park provides sanctuary for the most diverse 

flora and fauna of any national park in the temperate 

United States, and preserves an unparalleled collection of 

historic structures as a ‘‘time capsule’’ of Appalachian 

culture during the 19th and early 20th centuries; 

Whereas, on September 2, 1940, President Franklin D. Roosevelt dedicated Great Smoky Mountains National Park; 

Whereas the Great Smoky Mountains National Park has been 

America’s most popular national park since it opened, 

and now attracts 9,000,000 to 10,000,000 visitors each 

year, making it the most visited of the 58 national parks; 

and 

Whereas park visitors contribute over $700,000,000 each 

year resulting in over 14,000 jobs within the States and 

the surrounding local economies: Now, therefore, be it 


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•HRES 421 IH 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) commends the citizens of east Tennessee 

3 and western North Carolina for their vision and sac4 rifice; 

5 (2) commends the Great Smoky Mountains Na6 tional Park and the National Park Service for 75 

7 years of successful management and preservation of 

8 the park land; 

9 (3) congratulates the Great Smoky Mountains 

10 National Park on its 75th anniversary; and 

11 (4) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent12 atives to transmit a copy of this resolution to the 

13 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Head14 quarters located at 107 Park Headquarters Road, 

15 Gatlinburg, TN 37738, for appropriate display. 

Æ 


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