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 dis-
played enormous foresight in recognizing the potential 
benefits of a national park in the southern Appalachians; 
Whereas the boundaries and location of said park were se-
lected 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 west-
ern 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 pri-
vate 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 ap-
proximately 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. Roo-
sevelt 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 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) commends the citizens of east Tennessee 
and western North Carolina for their vision and sac-
rifice; 
(2) commends the Great Smoky Mountains Na-
tional Park and the National Park Service for 75 
years of successful management and preservation of 
the park land; 
(3) congratulates the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park on its 75th anniversary; and 
(4) directs the Clerk of the House of Represent-
atives to transmit a copy of this resolution to the 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park Head-
quarters located at 107 Park Headquarters Road, 
Gatlinburg, TN 37738, for appropriate display. 
Æ 
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