page_title: National Park Service
section_title: National Park Service
hierarchical_section_title: National Park Service / History / National Park Service
caption_attribution_description: English: NPS Preliminary Survey Personnel, seated on a hand driven railcar. November 20, 1931. (This image was taken during a photo documentary survey of the Great Smoky Mountains).
context_page_description: The National Park Service is an agency of the federal government of the United States that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916 through the National Park Service Organic Act
  The NPS is an operating unit of the United States Department of the Interior. The agency is charged with a dual role of preserving the ecological and historical integrity of the places entrusted to its management while also making them available and accessible for public use and enjoyment.
  In 2018, the NPS employed approximately 12,363 employees who oversaw 419 units, of which 62 were designated national parks.
context_section_description: Since its inception in 1916, the NPS has managed each of the United States' national parks, which have grown in number over the years to 62.
  Yellowstone National Park was the first national park in the United States. In 1872, there was no state government to manage it, so the federal government assumed direct control. Yosemite National Park began as a state park; the land for the park was donated by the federal government to the state of California in 1864 for perpetual conservation. Yosemite was later returned to federal ownership.
  At first, each national park was managed independently, with varying degrees of success. In Yellowstone, the civilian staff was replaced by the U.S. Army in 1886. Due to the irregularities in managing these national treasures, Stephen Mather petitioned the federal government to improve the situation.
  In response, Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane challenged him to lobby for creating a new agency, the National Park Service, to manage all national parks and some national monuments. Mather was successful with the ratification of the National Park Service Organic Act in 1916. Later, the agency was given authority over other protected areas, many with varying designations as Congress created them.
caption: NPS Preliminary Survey party, Great Smoky Mountains, 1931
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