By Mary O’KEEFE

With the Act of March 1, 1872, Congress established the first national park – Yellowstone National Park, which covered the territories of Montana and Wyoming as “a public park or pleasuring-ground for the benefit and enjoyment of the people” and placed it “under exclusive control of the Secretary of the Interior,” according to the National Park Service. 

This, according to the National Park Service, started a movement not just in the U.S. but worldwide to set aside national park areas. 

The U.S. led the way in protecting areas of the country from development and its leaders at the time knew the importance of saving land for future generations. 

Back then the carving out of national parks, and national monuments, was administered by the U.S. Dept. of the Interior, the Dept. of War (now, at least for the moment, known as the Dept. of Defense) and the U.S. Forest Service, a federal agency within the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture. In 1916 President Woodrow Wilson created the National Park Service that worked within the Dept. of the Interior. The National Park Service worked to protect the 35 national parks and monuments. 

An Executive Order in 1933 transferred 56 national monuments and military sites from the U.S. Forest Service and the War Dept. to the National Park Service. 

I know we may not think that many people visit the national parks because parks don’t get the media attention that Disneyland, Disney World and other man-made parks do; however, parks really do get a tremendous number of visitors. In 1904, when the National Park Service began keeping records of visits, there were 120,690 visits. In 1984 that number increased to 24,785,509 annually and in 2024 there were 331,863,358 visits to U.S. national parks. 

Disney World, in 2023, had 48.77 million visits; Disneyland, in 2024, had about 30 million. So yes – lots of people visit national parks.

According to the National Park Service, in the communities near national parks visitors spent a record high of $55.6 billion, which benefits the nation’s economy and supports 415,400 jobs. 

“The National Park Service report, 2023 National Park Visitor Spending Effects, finds that 325.5 million visitors spent $26.4 billion in communities near national parks. This spending supported 415,400 jobs, provided $19.4 billion in labor income, and $55.6 billion in economic output to the U.S. economy. The lodging sector had the highest direct contributions with $9.9 billion in economic output and 89,200 jobs. Restaurants received the next greatest direct contributions with $5.2 billion in economic output and 68,600 jobs,” according to the National Park Service. 

According to a July article by the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), visitations to parks this summer shaped up for another record year. However, this growth is occurring when the National Park Service is facing a “full-blown crisis as part of the federal downsizing.”  

The National Park Service lost 24% of its permanent staff since January 2024. The Dept. of the Interior in April ordered all parks to “remain open and accessible” this summer and for the National Park Service staff to present business-as-usual operations despite these devastating staffing cuts, according to NPCA. 

Those numbers of dismissed employees in both the U.S. Forest Service and the National Parks Service continue to rise; however, what is amazing is in report after report visitors are saying they do not see any difference in their experience at the national parks despite reports of closed restrooms, canceled educational programs, closed visitor centers and issues with camping reservations. 

What is keeping all of these parks going are the workers, the park rangers and the volunteers who continue to push the limit to keep the parks clean and safe. They are working a lot, and some are reportedly stressed to the breaking point, but they are still there because to many their job is more than just showing up; it is to protect the parks and forests. 

I think it is important to visit our national parks and it is important to remember why President Theodore Roosevelt worked so hard to keep these lands protected. He saw, back in the early 1900s, how quickly development was occurring throughout the nation. He watched how the “frontier” was disappearing and how that development was threatening animals, trees and all of nature. He wanted to protect the land and the animals for future generations.

“The rights of the public to the natural resources outweigh private rights, and must be given consideration,” said President Theodore Roosevelt. 

So take time to visit national parks and national forests. We have the Angeles National Forest in our backyard, easily accessible with lots of nature to explore. Note: Make sure you do not explore alone; fill out a hiking plan that can be shared with friends and know the terrain you will be facing. 

And while you are enjoying nature remember to pack out what you pack in, including any trash, and if/when you see forest service employees thank them for being there and working hard to protect our national treasures. 

Weather temperatures will be warm but not too hot throughout the week into the beginning of next week.  We should see temperatures about 10 degrees below normal. With temperatures in the high 80s, normal for the foothills is 90 degrees-plus for this time of year. 

The cooler temperatures are due to an unseasonable low pressure system over northern California, with a cooler air mass that is not moving. It is bringing rain to the north but not to Southern California, according to NOAA.

Tuesday will see temperatures rise to more normal temperatures.