I visited Fort McHenry back in 2010 and a memory I have was we visited Fort McHenry on the way back to Jersey City from a boy scout jamboree in Virginia that year and when we made to Fort McHenry, it was right in time for a flag ceremony, and I had the opportunity to hold the folded flag and walk to give it to a ranger. Doing that at the location where the national anthem honoring the flag was written...it was an experience. Something neat about Fort McHenry besides the anthem is that it has become national tradition that when a new flag is designed it first flies over Fort McHenry. The first official 49 and 50-star American flags were flown over the fort and are still located on the premises! For former National Monuments, there's Shoshone Cavern in Wyoming. Shoshone Cavern National Monument was proclaimed by Taft in September 1909, and the NPS administered it from 1916 until 1954. Why was it delisted? Because the city of Cody advocated to return it to local administration because they contended that the site could be better run if it were not in federal hands. However, after renaming it to the Spirit Mountain Cave, they were unsuccessful in luring tourists and so the city council allowed for the cavern and the site to be returned to federal ownership in September 1977. After that, the location was incorporated into surrounding federal lands and is currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
I read about the new flag tradition at Fort McHenry. It's only fitting! Glad you could have that experience there as well, sounds like it was really powerful. Thanks for sharing!
I visited Fort McHenry in September of 2019 and enjoyed it immensely,. Wish I had been able to witness the flag ceremony. I was somewhat surprised at how fre visitors were there on a very pleasant day.
As one of the comments said in the beginning, the former Father Millet Cross National Monument is definitely odd for how small it was. It honors the wooden cross erected by Pierre Millet at the New French Fort Denonville in 1688. During the preceding winter, disease and starvation overwhelmed the fort's garrison of a hundred men and only twelve of them were saved by a rescue party. Father Millet, a Jesuit missionary, was with this rescue party. On Good Friday, he dedicated a cross to invoke mercy on the plague-stricken men. In September 1925, Coolidge set aside an 18-foot square section of land from the Fort Niagara Military Reservation for a new 18-foot bronze cross and National Monument. In 1945, Fort Niagara was declared surplus by the US Army and plans were laid to convert the site to a state park. In September 1949, Congress abolished the national monument. Another former National Monument is Holy Cross in Colorado. In May 1929, Herbert Hoover designated the area surrounding the mountain as Holy Cross National Monument under US Forest Service administration. The monument was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. The mountain's remote location made visitor visits difficult, and so in August 1950, Harry Truman signed an act abolishing the national monument and returning the area to White River National Forest. The former national monument is now a part of the Holy Cross Wilderness.
Well if you're gonna talk about the best parks in the nation you probably should talk about NW ohio's parks mainly oak openings wildwood maumee Bay Peirson ... and Magee marsh. And if you figure out why OakOpenings is the rarest park. I'll be impressed Your hints are 1 % Savanna
Thanks for this! My wife and I had our first date at Platt National Park on November 1st, 1971. When she passed away eight years ago, we had been married over forty-three years!
THANK YOU! For putting in the effort to learn how to pronounce Mackinac correctly. I was watching a popular history RUclips channel the other day that, of course, mispronounced the name. Fun fact Michigan has two first state parks because we have two state park systems. Mackinac State Park, being the first, first state park, and Interlochen state park being the second, first state park.
This is a great video topic! I'd be interested about other NPS sites that have changed hands as well-- one I live a few minutes away from is Papago Park, which was briefly a Nat'l Monument in the 20th century but was sold to the state in 1930 because the Governor wanted to use the land for economic development to offset the effects of the Depression-- I think there was briefly a fish hatchery here; it later hosted a German PoW camp during WWII, and now there's a city park that protects the geologically significant buttes, as well as a zoo and botanical garden.
Having a video with AtlasPro would be cool. Like a "How National Parks are Islands or something. Anyaway, this was a very good video. Thank you for sharing
I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Chickasaw NRA. It’s a really unique little place in Southern Oklahoma. The water is clear and blue and great to swim in on a hot day. Plus there’s a bison herd, and there’s lots of Armadillos. If you’re driving on 35 through Oklahoma south of OKC, it’s worth a stop to check it out
To be honest, I wasn't that familiar with it before researching this episode. But, now I'm fascinated by the history of this little park! Gotta make a visit one day!
I really appreciate how Platt is still given a distinctive designation within Chichasaw - we were able to tour the park during the National Park Service's 100th anniversary and really enjoyed the demonstrations of how the WPA workers lived while creating the park. Drive up the hill and see the town and park from above - one of our favorite parts of the park!
@@NationalParkDiaries if you do, holler at me! My family has been camping and vacationing there for 5 generations. I know a great deal of history and all the special spots Edit to add: the park was hit by a twister a few weeks ago and historic downtown Sulphur was destroyed. They aren’t ready for visitors yet but they could probably benefit from some promotion when they recover a bit
Bravo sir, good job on the pronounciation - now try Ypsilanti, Charlevoix, and Epoufette - All Michigan towns. TR and John Muir really were forward thinking in the need to preserve areas of natural beauty for future generations.
This summer, I went to Mackinac Island and visited several of the historical sites there. I think the state is doing a great job of maintaining the historical aspects of the island, though I didn't know it was previously a national park until this video. Ft. McHenry is 30 minutes from me, yet I've never been there. Will go check it out soon.
Haven't been to either, but I hear Mackinac is simply wonderful. Would love to go there for the historical connection to the NPS, but I think it would make a really nice vacation no matter what!
A number of National Monuments have been upgraded to National Historical Parks; and the Fort McHenry is still listed in the NPS. Thanks for an interesting study! TM retired but still likes NPS
Nice to see some appreciation for natural areas in Oklahoma! In junior high, I went to a Bioblitz event (where citizen scientists work to count species in a particular natural area) in Chickasaw National Recreation Area, where Platt National Park used to be! The Lake of the Arbuckles is a beautiful place to camp and kayak, if you're an Okie like me. Subscribed!
I love these niche topics! I think the most interesting former National Monument (other than Fossil Cycad) is Old Kasaan NM in Alaska. The population was told by the mining company in the area to move to a new site, and later its totem poles, which were the largest attraction, were moved to New Kasaan and left the old town a shell that eventually burned down. I'm not even sure Old Kasaan has anything left at its location anymore.
Just got back from a road trip to Oklahoma and north Texas about a month ago. Chickasaw Recreation area (Specifically Buckhorn campground) was our home base for that week. While there, we checked out a few trails and was fascinated to learn it was at one time Platt National Park. Was glad to see that it was still maintained in the parks system. Interesting history, and it honestly still is an oasis in a dry area. Just in a different way. So many things to see within a couple of hours. We stayed busy. And the lakeside camping was amazing. Glad to see this video. It gives us more areas to potentially visit in the future.
oh and the Mackinac story reminds me of Jefferson Barracks in an odd way. Some history there, but there was a military barracks. Its next to the National Cemetery.
I have been to Sully’s Hill. Pretty impressive hike for the Great Plains. It would probably be a long list, but have you considered doing a video about sites that were almost National Parks? Mansfield Battlefield was in the process of becoming part of the system but then the Great Depression hit. Which is unfortunate since the ground on which Union soldiers took their stand and many were probably buried has been destroyed by strip mining.
It's possible, but it's kind of hard to quantify all the parks tbh. So many have been in various stages of development, from merely being discussed to almost being established. Even the main paper that I sourced this video from didn't attempt to quantify them because there are simply too many. That being said, there is an interesting list of parks that were authorized, but never established, and that might be worth looking into!
The Abraham Lincoln birthplace is kind of hilarious because they built this whole huge extremely fancy shrine over what they THOUGHT was the cabin he was born in. Further scholarship about 30 years later proved this was not the case. So it’s preserving the IDEA of his birth cabin. The signage was very amusing in this regard.
Yeah, that was pretty jarring when I visited, not going to lie. It's just this rural, modest area in the Kentucky Backwoods, and then bam, some giant neoclassical shrine thing. Pretty out of step with the whole Lincoln mythology as well lol. I don't thing it would be built today.
I find it appauling that our government has repeatedly built temples to any man especially the one who decided to completely scrap the constitution to preserve his legacy.
@@NationalParkDiariesThe Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Indiana has a working farm in the summer and the location of the original home marked. It also has a nice visitor center made from Indiana Limestone. The adjacent state park is nice with several buildings built by the CCC. It also has an amphitheater with performances in the summer. They is a rural area and the Park is small.
Mackinac Island is important in this Nation's history in 2 ways. The Island was the beginning of America's fur trade years before it moved to its more celebrated trade in the Rockie Mountains. The study, developement & understanding of all gastrointestinal medicine had its beginning in medical knowledge due to a gun shot abdominal wound suffered by a French fur trader. Dr Beaumont, who was on the island, made this fellow his " study" subject for many years. The wound never healed over allowing Dr.Beaumont visuall observation of human digestion, which he wrote & lectured on. The Island remains pretty much as it was with a small village, no motor transportation allowed, and little commercial development,despite 300 years of European occupation.
Great as always! It’d be so cool to see a historical timeline of park history and big moments for national parks as a whole, if you’re up for making something like that! You’re awesome!
Definitely an interesting video idea. While I'm more into naturally significant national parks myself, I wouldn't mind watching a video that goes more in-depth into some of the historical parks mentioned in the video.
Vicksburg National Battlefield is an interesting case in which part of it was decommissioned so the city could grow. Now there are war memorials in people’s back yards and behind Wal Mart.
I just learned about Zombie Deer Disease. Can you explain the effects of these epidemics. Also, what role do National Parks have in understanding, controlling, & preventing outbreaks (especially zoonotic diseases.)
Yellowstone was originally manned and administered by the US Army, Mackinac was just another folded into the Army prior to the establishment of the National Park System, in 1916. (As was Yosemite and Platt) Devils lake, ND is a no outlet lake, except in times of extreme high water levels. The small park was originally quite near the lake, but over the following 50 or so years, the lake level dropped 25 or 30 feet and the shoreline receded miles. The shoreline did not recover to those previous areas until about 15 years ago. The park never got off the ground,, partly, because the lake left.
Another interesting topic would be planned national parks that never came to be, like Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania. It was supposed to be a national park, but the depression and WWII sidelined those plans. If I remember correctly, there were a few other sites in PA like that as well, including a large lake that was supposed to be built in Bedford County, PA, but never was, due to the depression and war.
Oh boy, that'd be a hefty topic. There's a section in one of the papers I used for research about "potential national parks," and the author didn't even elaborate on any because there were too many to list. Could be interesting to topic on a park-by-park basis if they have an interesting story though, so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I live in the Pinelands National Reserve in New Jersey, the Nation's first. A video describing what a reserve is and how it differs from a preserve, monument, park, etc. Also, at least the Pine Barrens seems to be run by the NPS, State of NJ, Public & Private Foundations and the Pinelands Alliance. A video on either the Pine Barrens or National Reserves would be awesome!
Hahahaha, I've been to Gateway Arch and it was cool! I enjoyed my visit, but it should have remained a National Memorial. It's just not a National Park worthy place...
WELL DONE!! Thanks for the shout out in the video - that was quite unexpected. I do have a postcard of Platt NP. I’ve never found any signage photos of the other 4 - not surprising though due to the era.
Cameron, have you ever considered doing a video on the ANILCA Act from 1980 (Carter’s last major act as President)? I thought it would be fascinating to understand all that went into ANILCA and exploring the opposing opinions.
Yea, it's one of those ones that just kind of flies under the radar because it was deauthorized so long ago. But, very cool piece of NPS history for sure!
Amazing video! I'd love to see you talk about Hanford Reach National monument. It's a really weird place, half wildlife habitat preservation half nuclear waste cleanup. There's a lot of history to it and no one talks about it. Thanks keep up the great work!
Oh man, Hanford is really interesting. I first read about it in a book called "A River Lost" by Blaine Harden. It's fascinated me ever since and I'll definitely be covering it at some point here on the channel. Thanks for the suggestion!
Dope video dude. I think a great idea would be doing a historical timeline of park history and big moments for national parks as a whole. Totally an original idea. By me.
I don't feel like parks that have been 'demoted' are unfortunate, but rather have dodged a bullet. Once a place is protected, so much the better if it isn't designated a 'full' national park -- that only brings more mass tourism and the heavier-handed rules of the NPS (in particular, no hiking with your dog - grrr). I'd much rather visit places that are National Forest units or managed by the BLM or are state parks or other kinds of natural areas.
There's a couple National Monuments that were decommissioned in Colorado that I've always wanted to learn more about... they have heavy ties with the 4 great surveys of the American West in the 1800s... you should look into Wheeler National Monument and Mount of the Holy Cross National Monument...
Of the 5 you listed, Mackinac is the only one no longer under Federal administration according to the picture of White Horse Hill National Game Preserve. It's interesting that of all the places that you would think should be protected and has vast historical significance and natural beauty, Mackinac is it. But I really am not bothered that it isn't a national park. Having the Feds running it is not much better than selling it to developers. The state has a pretty tight reign on the Island.
I'm never particularly happy when any particular place is 'promoted' to a full national park. The crowds inevitably increase due to the publicity and the management become more heavy-handed than when the land was managed by the state, the Forest Service, BLM or others. I often hike with my dog, am a mountain biker, and enjoy dispersed camping. National Parks typically prohibit all these activities, and so we often find ourselves having to specifically avoid national parks when enjoying the great outdoors.
Excellent research, as always. Do you know the story of Waterloo National Park in Southeast Michigan? Created in the 1930's as a training area for WPA and CCC workers, Waterloo is now Waterloo State Recreation Area. I think you would find its history fascinating.
I had not heard of it until now, but looking into it a little bit, it looks like it was one of the Recreational Demonstration Areas created during the Depression (part of the same program that created Catoctin Mountain Park and Prince William Forest Park). Those have a really fascinating history (which I touched on in my Catoctin video), and it looks like Waterloo is no different! I love areas like that and their connections to conservation history. Very cool, thanks for sharing!
They did some tree ring research on the logs; they turned out to be newer than 1809. Woops! I worked at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park for 30 years. It was a private museum, then part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, then a National Historical Park. Some other parks have been private museums. You might want to discuss those sites. TM retired but interested
Have you ever done anything about "Molly Pitcher's Well" or any of her lore? I volunteer at a museum wheee I present a piece that includes Molly Pitcher. A patron told me about the amusing history of the "well" and how it was dug, claimed, and disproven. Then I think they "found" or dug another one. It could make for an interestong video.
Good topic suggestion! I haven't covered many State Parks on the channel yet, but I'm certainly open to it - lots of good state park stories out there. Thanks!
It's the one that gets overlooked the most I feel like simply because it was "demoted" before National Parks really became a thing. Super interesting history though!
Laura S. Walker State Park in South Georgia used to be a National Park (Laura S. Walker National Park) from 1937-41. The nearby Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is one of those places that would have been an amazing National Park had most of the Swamp not been logged. The Wildlife Refuge is protecting what is left & what has grown back since the naval store days.
So... this comment sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole lol! I did find some info from the "Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites" referring to it as a "National Park," but I couldn't find any official documentation from the NPS that it was considered an actual _National Park_ . Best I can tell (and again, this is just what I could find online), Laura S. Walker was _a park_ under Federal control (from a New Deal-era land reclamation project), but never held the title _National Park_ . Super pedantic, I know, but I'm weird about these administrative divisions and titles lol. If you have any other resources I could look into, I'd love to learn more. I'm happy to be wrong on this one!
@@NationalParkDiaries I wouldn't know any other resources, but I know it was a CCC camp. Some of the older buildings are old CCC cabins. If you ever venture out into other federal lands (non-NPS federal lands), the Okefenokee would make a fantastic episode. It's my favorite Interior Dept site. So beautiful!
National Park Diaries, very interesting video, and well done. However, on the NPS website, I found long ago that they list 25 classes. Which ones don't make your list, and why? 1. National Park 2. National Monument 3. National Preserve 4. National Historical Park 5. National Historic Site 6. National Battlefield 7. National Military Park 8. National Battlefield Park 9. National Memorial 10. National Recreation Area 11. National Seashore 12. National Lakeshore 13. National River 14. National Wild & Scenic River 15. National Reserve 16. National Parkway 17. National Trail x18. National Scenic Trail 19. National Monument & Historic Shrine 20. Scenic & Recreational River 21. Int’l. Historical Park & Ecological Preserve 22. Int’l. Historic Park and Ecological Reserve 23. National Park for the Performing Arts 24. Mountain Park 25. National Monument & Preserve
Ah, good question! A few of those listings aren't "official" designations, just one-off titles that certain parks have. For example Catoctin Mountain Park - "Mountain Park" isn't classified as a specific NPS designation, just a title that Catoctin has by itself because of its somewhat weird administrative history. Same with the other listings you mentioned. The ones I talk about in the video are all of the "official" designations.
Yeah, technically just a name change and acreage increase. And it wasn't "demoted" like the others in this video since it kept its NP status. But, super fascinating story nonetheless and a good one for a future video!
Something I would like to hear about is how we can interact with these parks. Talk about perhaps lessor know trails and adventures. Paint more of a picture. I come to these channels to be inspired. Its escapism! Please don't talk so much about environmental issues. I so care about them but I need mental rest from all the negatively in the news. I want to learn about the history, the plabts and animals and the geology and learn about the dangers of the parks.
I think Pictured Rocks is a National Lakeshore, managed by the NPS/Dept. of Interior, but not a full fledged National Park (Grand Teton NP as an example).
I love the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace. I am not so sure about the need as National Park, but its a beautiful place and close to other really cool places like Gethsemane Abbey and some awesome distilleries with historic significance.
I really enjoyed my visit to Lincoln Birthplace! I tacked it on to a trip to Mammoth Cave (along with Lincoln Boyhood in Indiana) and had a wonderful time. Small, quiet, contemplative - really great experience.
I my opinion the distinction between parks has shifted with Gateway Arch. I’d rather see Lincoln’s birthplace or Fort McHenry (which I love Fort McHenry) as a full park before the arch.
Would be interesting if you covered the "Recreational Demonstration Areas" that were set to made National Parks but never were. It's funny that Pennsylvania had six (Ricketts Glen, French Creek, Raccoon Creek, Laurel Hill, Blue Knob, and Hickory Run State Parks) and were built up by the CCC, but currently has no National Parks. I think WWII ended that whole plan. Seems like the IUCN even classified some of them as National Parks until fairly recently.
I actually covered these briefly in the video I did about Catoctin Mountain Park and Camp David. They probably could be their own video as well, but if you need something to hold you over, you can check that one out!
We’ve been to Ricketts, Blue Knob, and Laurel Hill. I’d want to get to the others as well. The work of the CCC in these areas is really spectacular. Ricketts Glen is really underrated. It’s interesting that the one place in PA (Delaware Gap) they now want to make a NP is lackluster by comparison.
That’s interesting. I live near Raccoon Creek and saw an old map from the 40s or late 30s where it was labeled as a National Park. I had just assumed it was a mistake
Mackinac wasn’t the first state park, it was actually Yosemite that was first as it was a state park for years before the feds took it over…Mackinac was beaten by Niagara Falls State Park as the newest state park by months, and technically both were beaten by the Metropolitan parks around Boston by two years but those weren’t opened to the public until 1896
Fine episode. Subscribed to this series. Wish it had been up and running when I was working on NPS history for the 75th Anniversary. By the way, have you done/are you doing an episode about the NPS/UC Berkeley connection?
Welcome to the community, happy to have you here! I've done episodes on Stephen Mather and Horace Albright, both of whom graduated from UCB, but other than that I haven't touched on it much. Do you have any resources or recommendations? I don't know much about the relationship, honestly.
@NationalParkDiaries Yes, I worked with the Mather family on a series of workshops for GGNRA rangers about the connections. It's been a while, but I'll see what I can turn up in the storage unit. Albright's book on the Birth of the National Park Service is excellent; Shankland's Steve Mather of the National Parks ditto. There is a Stephen Mather archive in the Bancroft Library; not much there, mainly UC student stuff, but worth checking out. The NPS has an excellent website about the first Park Naturalists conference, held at Berkeley; the group is photographed on the steps of (as I recall) Hilgard Hall and the entire conference publication is there: www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/symposia/conference-pn1/proceedingst.htm
I read the story of the Blackwell Schools for the first time in National Parks Magazine just a few months ago. I'd love to cover it here on the channel someday.
I love looking at NPS properties of the past. My favorite has to be Papago Saguaro NM. People who live in Phoenix, have no idea that the NPS set aside the Papago Park area as a prime example of saguaro cacti, and the history of the WW2 POW camp (where the largest POW escape on American soil took place). NPS got frustrated by so many people going there, said it ruined the ecosystem. Were happy to give it over to the city, and then established Saguaro NP down by Tucson as the new site of saguaro preservation.
I've visited all 5. Sully's Hill was fantastic for what it is. There's a driving trail with tons of wildlife visible - especially prairie dogs and bison. Fun Fact: The name stayed Sully's Hill until just a few years go when the recrationally offended mustered up a bunch of manufactured outrage at anything named after a white man and so now it's got some other name.
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I visited Fort McHenry back in 2010 and a memory I have was we visited Fort McHenry on the way back to Jersey City from a boy scout jamboree in Virginia that year and when we made to Fort McHenry, it was right in time for a flag ceremony, and I had the opportunity to hold the folded flag and walk to give it to a ranger. Doing that at the location where the national anthem honoring the flag was written...it was an experience. Something neat about Fort McHenry besides the anthem is that it has become national tradition that when a new flag is designed it first flies over Fort McHenry. The first official 49 and 50-star American flags were flown over the fort and are still located on the premises!
For former National Monuments, there's Shoshone Cavern in Wyoming. Shoshone Cavern National Monument was proclaimed by Taft in September 1909, and the NPS administered it from 1916 until 1954. Why was it delisted? Because the city of Cody advocated to return it to local administration because they contended that the site could be better run if it were not in federal hands. However, after renaming it to the Spirit Mountain Cave, they were unsuccessful in luring tourists and so the city council allowed for the cavern and the site to be returned to federal ownership in September 1977. After that, the location was incorporated into surrounding federal lands and is currently administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
I read about the new flag tradition at Fort McHenry. It's only fitting! Glad you could have that experience there as well, sounds like it was really powerful. Thanks for sharing!
I visited Fort McHenry in September of 2019 and enjoyed it immensely,. Wish I had been able to witness the flag ceremony. I was somewhat surprised at how fre visitors were there on a very pleasant day.
As one of the comments said in the beginning, the former Father Millet Cross National Monument is definitely odd for how small it was. It honors the wooden cross erected by Pierre Millet at the New French Fort Denonville in 1688. During the preceding winter, disease and starvation overwhelmed the fort's garrison of a hundred men and only twelve of them were saved by a rescue party. Father Millet, a Jesuit missionary, was with this rescue party. On Good Friday, he dedicated a cross to invoke mercy on the plague-stricken men. In September 1925, Coolidge set aside an 18-foot square section of land from the Fort Niagara Military Reservation for a new 18-foot bronze cross and National Monument. In 1945, Fort Niagara was declared surplus by the US Army and plans were laid to convert the site to a state park. In September 1949, Congress abolished the national monument.
Another former National Monument is Holy Cross in Colorado. In May 1929, Herbert Hoover designated the area surrounding the mountain as Holy Cross National Monument under US Forest Service administration. The monument was transferred to the National Park Service in 1933. The mountain's remote location made visitor visits difficult, and so in August 1950, Harry Truman signed an act abolishing the national monument and returning the area to White River National Forest. The former national monument is now a part of the Holy Cross Wilderness.
The fact that there are 2 abolished NPS units revolving around a "cross" is fascinating. Great stories though, thanks for sharing!
With how many get it wrong, I'm proud of your Mackinac pronunciation
I've gotten so many pronunciations wrong lol, glad to get this one right!
You're right... most get it wrong... 😶
Same here, from "that state" down south.
Well if you're gonna talk about the best parks in the nation you probably should talk about NW ohio's parks mainly oak openings wildwood maumee Bay Peirson ... and Magee marsh.
And if you figure out why OakOpenings is the rarest park. I'll be impressed
Your hints are
1 %
Savanna
Confusing to some is the town of Mackinaw is spelled with the “w”, so when they see Mackinac they default to saying nack instead of naw
This reminds of Pluto being reclassified as a dwarf planet. It's still out there doing it's thing, just a little different name :)
Thanks for this! My wife and I had our first date at Platt National Park on November 1st, 1971. When she passed away eight years ago, we had been married over forty-three years!
I'm sorry for your loss, but glad to know a National Park could provide you with such a special moment in your life. Thanks for sharing.
THANK YOU! For putting in the effort to learn how to pronounce Mackinac correctly. I was watching a popular history RUclips channel the other day that, of course, mispronounced the name. Fun fact Michigan has two first state parks because we have two state park systems. Mackinac State Park, being the first, first state park, and Interlochen state park being the second, first state park.
Haha, I've had my fair share of mispronunciations on this channel, so I'm happy to finally get one right!
This is a great video topic! I'd be interested about other NPS sites that have changed hands as well-- one I live a few minutes away from is Papago Park, which was briefly a Nat'l Monument in the 20th century but was sold to the state in 1930 because the Governor wanted to use the land for economic development to offset the effects of the Depression-- I think there was briefly a fish hatchery here; it later hosted a German PoW camp during WWII, and now there's a city park that protects the geologically significant buttes, as well as a zoo and botanical garden.
That's a good one - thanks for the suggestion!
The first state park in America was on the American side of Niagara Falls, NY.
Having a video with AtlasPro would be cool. Like a "How National Parks are Islands or something.
Anyaway, this was a very good video. Thank you for sharing
Big fan of his channel - he does great work! Appreciate the suggestion an thanks for watching!
I’ve spent a fair amount of time at Chickasaw NRA. It’s a really unique little place in Southern Oklahoma. The water is clear and blue and great to swim in on a hot day. Plus there’s a bison herd, and there’s lots of Armadillos. If you’re driving on 35 through Oklahoma south of OKC, it’s worth a stop to check it out
To be honest, I wasn't that familiar with it before researching this episode. But, now I'm fascinated by the history of this little park! Gotta make a visit one day!
I really appreciate how Platt is still given a distinctive designation within Chichasaw - we were able to tour the park during the National Park Service's 100th anniversary and really enjoyed the demonstrations of how the WPA workers lived while creating the park. Drive up the hill and see the town and park from above - one of our favorite parts of the park!
@@NationalParkDiaries if you do, holler at me! My family has been camping and vacationing there for 5 generations. I know a great deal of history and all the special spots
Edit to add: the park was hit by a twister a few weeks ago and historic downtown Sulphur was destroyed. They aren’t ready for visitors yet but they could probably benefit from some promotion when they recover a bit
I love Chickasaw NRA! It's a really beautiful spot. Went to a Bioblitz here in junior high, and loved it.
Thanks for another great video! Future topic idea: Hohokam Pima National Monument. It’s the only park site that the public cannot visit.
Great topic suggestion! And thanks for watching!
Bravo sir, good job on the pronounciation - now try Ypsilanti, Charlevoix, and Epoufette - All Michigan towns. TR and John Muir really were forward thinking in the need to preserve areas of natural beauty for future generations.
I'm going to pass on those lol 😅 But yep, couldn't agree more about the foresight some of our early conservation leaders had!
You should do a bookshelf tour, or maybe just go through some good writing on national parks, nature, preservation, etc
I get this comment so often lol! I really need to figure out a format that works to do stuff like that here on the channel 👍🏻
Thank you for your video. We are trying to visit as many national parks and monuments, etc. as we can. I look forward to seeing more of your videos.
Enjoy your trip - I'm on the same journey myself! Thanks for watching!
This summer, I went to Mackinac Island and visited several of the historical sites there. I think the state is doing a great job of maintaining the historical aspects of the island, though I didn't know it was previously a national park until this video. Ft. McHenry is 30 minutes from me, yet I've never been there. Will go check it out soon.
Haven't been to either, but I hear Mackinac is simply wonderful. Would love to go there for the historical connection to the NPS, but I think it would make a really nice vacation no matter what!
A number of National Monuments have been upgraded to National Historical Parks; and the Fort McHenry is still listed in the NPS. Thanks for an interesting study! TM retired but still likes NPS
ohhh 💕 for actually pronouncing mackinac correctly!! i'm a michigander, it's so rare to see people from outside the state pronounce it right
Haha, I'm glad I could make all my Michigan subscribers happy on this one 😂
Nice to see some appreciation for natural areas in Oklahoma! In junior high, I went to a Bioblitz event (where citizen scientists work to count species in a particular natural area) in Chickasaw National Recreation Area, where Platt National Park used to be! The Lake of the Arbuckles is a beautiful place to camp and kayak, if you're an Okie like me. Subscribed!
Welcome to the community!
I love these niche topics! I think the most interesting former National Monument (other than Fossil Cycad) is Old Kasaan NM in Alaska. The population was told by the mining company in the area to move to a new site, and later its totem poles, which were the largest attraction, were moved to New Kasaan and left the old town a shell that eventually burned down. I'm not even sure Old Kasaan has anything left at its location anymore.
Oh man, never heard of this one! Gonna have to look into it. Sounds super fascinating. Thanks!
New York’s gigantic Adirondack State Park was established in 1892, a few years before Mackinac became a state park.
Just got back from a road trip to Oklahoma and north Texas about a month ago. Chickasaw Recreation area (Specifically Buckhorn campground) was our home base for that week. While there, we checked out a few trails and was fascinated to learn it was at one time Platt National Park. Was glad to see that it was still maintained in the parks system. Interesting history, and it honestly still is an oasis in a dry area. Just in a different way. So many things to see within a couple of hours. We stayed busy. And the lakeside camping was amazing. Glad to see this video. It gives us more areas to potentially visit in the future.
Nice! Glad to hear y'all had fun and enjoyed some lesser known NPS history!
oh and the Mackinac story reminds me of Jefferson Barracks in an odd way. Some history there, but there was a military barracks. Its next to the National Cemetery.
Thanks for the awesome content and great video!!!
Thanks for watching!
Just wanted to com😂pliment you, sir. So proud of someone your age having a love for special areas and wanting keep them protected!! 👏👏👍👍❤️❤️
Thanks so much!
I have been to Sully’s Hill. Pretty impressive hike for the Great Plains.
It would probably be a long list, but have you considered doing a video about sites that were almost National Parks? Mansfield Battlefield was in the process of becoming part of the system but then the Great Depression hit. Which is unfortunate since the ground on which Union soldiers took their stand and many were probably buried has been destroyed by strip mining.
It's possible, but it's kind of hard to quantify all the parks tbh. So many have been in various stages of development, from merely being discussed to almost being established. Even the main paper that I sourced this video from didn't attempt to quantify them because there are simply too many. That being said, there is an interesting list of parks that were authorized, but never established, and that might be worth looking into!
The Abraham Lincoln birthplace is kind of hilarious because they built this whole huge extremely fancy shrine over what they THOUGHT was the cabin he was born in. Further scholarship about 30 years later proved this was not the case. So it’s preserving the IDEA of his birth cabin. The signage was very amusing in this regard.
Yeah, that was pretty jarring when I visited, not going to lie. It's just this rural, modest area in the Kentucky Backwoods, and then bam, some giant neoclassical shrine thing. Pretty out of step with the whole Lincoln mythology as well lol. I don't thing it would be built today.
I find it appauling that our government has repeatedly built temples to any man especially the one who decided to completely scrap the constitution to preserve his legacy.
@@NationalParkDiariesThe Abraham Lincoln Boyhood Home National Historic Site in Indiana has a working farm in the summer and the location of the original home marked. It also has a nice visitor center made from Indiana Limestone. The adjacent state park is nice with several buildings built by the CCC. It also has an amphitheater with performances in the summer. They is a rural area and the Park is small.
Mackinac Island is important in this Nation's history in 2 ways. The Island was the beginning of America's fur trade years before it moved to its more celebrated trade in the Rockie Mountains. The study, developement & understanding of all gastrointestinal medicine had its beginning in medical knowledge due to a gun shot abdominal wound suffered by a French fur trader. Dr Beaumont, who was on the island, made this fellow his " study" subject for many years. The wound never healed over allowing Dr.Beaumont visuall observation of human digestion, which he wrote & lectured on. The Island remains pretty much as it was with a small village, no motor transportation allowed, and little commercial development,despite 300 years of European occupation.
It's got a fascinating history, for sure!
Why and how was the gateway arch made a national park?
ruclips.net/video/ahAt1thQV74/видео.html he talks about it in this video!
Made a video all about this! You can watch it here: ruclips.net/video/ahAt1thQV74/видео.html
“Maybe we still don’t” and flashes an image of the Gateway Arch 😂😂😂
FSK was on a ship when he recognized that “the flag was still there”. It is in Baltimore harbor just north east of the Key Bridge.
Great as always! It’d be so cool to see a historical timeline of park history and big moments for national parks as a whole, if you’re up for making something like that! You’re awesome!
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Definitely an interesting video idea. While I'm more into naturally significant national parks myself, I wouldn't mind watching a video that goes more in-depth into some of the historical parks mentioned in the video.
Noted, thanks for the feedback!
5:11 typing it 7eventh in the captions is a mood, I'm out here handwriting 4our 😭
Really enjoyed this video! You're a good teacher and you made it very interesting.
I'm so glad, thanks for watching!
Vicksburg National Battlefield is an interesting case in which part of it was decommissioned so the city could grow. Now there are war memorials in people’s back yards and behind Wal Mart.
I've heard of this story. Very interesting and I might look at covering it one day here on the channel.
So the city could grow? Did the park completely surround the city? Otherwise it just sounds like developers wanted the land and they got it.
Brilliant channel. I'm not American, this is a great history lesson.
Welcome to the community!
I just learned about Zombie Deer Disease. Can you explain the effects of these epidemics.
Also, what role do National Parks have in understanding, controlling, & preventing outbreaks (especially zoonotic diseases.)
Yellowstone was originally manned and administered by the US Army, Mackinac was just another folded into the Army prior to the establishment of the National Park System, in 1916. (As was Yosemite and Platt)
Devils lake, ND is a no outlet lake, except in times of extreme high water levels. The small park was originally quite near the lake, but over the following 50 or so years, the lake level dropped 25 or 30 feet and the shoreline receded miles. The shoreline did not recover to those previous areas until about 15 years ago. The park never got off the ground,, partly, because the lake left.
You have great delivery and speech.
Thanks so much!
Thank you for a very informative video. Was interesting in so many ways.
Thanks for watching!
Very interesting and informative content. You’ve actually sparked my curiosity into national parks. Thank you.
So glad to hear that, thanks so much for watching!!
Another interesting topic would be planned national parks that never came to be, like Ricketts Glen State Park in Pennsylvania. It was supposed to be a national park, but the depression and WWII sidelined those plans. If I remember correctly, there were a few other sites in PA like that as well, including a large lake that was supposed to be built in Bedford County, PA, but never was, due to the depression and war.
Oh boy, that'd be a hefty topic. There's a section in one of the papers I used for research about "potential national parks," and the author didn't even elaborate on any because there were too many to list. Could be interesting to topic on a park-by-park basis if they have an interesting story though, so I'll keep that in mind. Thanks!
I live in the Pinelands National Reserve in New Jersey, the Nation's first. A video describing what a reserve is and how it differs from a preserve, monument, park, etc. Also, at least the Pine Barrens seems to be run by the NPS, State of NJ, Public & Private Foundations and the Pinelands Alliance. A video on either the Pine Barrens or National Reserves would be awesome!
The Pine Barrens are fascinating to me. Definitely going to cover them some day. Thanks for the suggestion!
Can you do a video with a timeline of big laws for National Parks (antiquities act, national park service being established, ect)? Thanks!
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Watched this video while in sully’s hill!! What a coincidence. Also great video
Oh wow, that's quite the journey! Have fun and thanks for watching!
Great job. I really enjoyed the video.
Thanks for watching!
Public lands are gold nuggets to the American people. They are beyond precious, regardless of so-called 'designations'...
Agreed!
As I go to work passing Folger, Marion, Seward....did I mention it's a 2 mile trip?
I believe Lake of the Ozarks in MO is a former NP too, and now a state park.
Recreational Demonstration Area under the NPS but was one of a a bunch to become a state park rather than a national park
Dude, is that a Washed Out sweater you're wearing? If so, that's awesome! He's my favorite artist.
It's actually Nathaniel Drew merch lol!
the dig at the Gateway Arch was funny
sincerely,
someone from St. Louis
Hahahaha, I've been to Gateway Arch and it was cool! I enjoyed my visit, but it should have remained a National Memorial. It's just not a National Park worthy place...
@@NationalParkDiaries lol, definitely agree! though I'm not gonna complain about it 🤣
WELL DONE!! Thanks for the shout out in the video - that was quite unexpected. I do have a postcard of Platt NP. I’ve never found any signage photos of the other 4 - not surprising though due to the era.
No problem, thanks for watching and thanks for the suggestion! That Platt NP postcard sounds AWESOME btw. What a cool piece of NPS memorabilia!
Cameron, have you ever considered doing a video on the ANILCA Act from 1980 (Carter’s last major act as President)? I thought it would be fascinating to understand all that went into ANILCA and exploring the opposing opinions.
As a Yooper, props to pronouncing Mackinac Island correctly
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Mackinac island is one of my favorite places ever, and I didn't know it used to be a national park! Extremely cool to learn.
Yea, it's one of those ones that just kind of flies under the radar because it was deauthorized so long ago. But, very cool piece of NPS history for sure!
Nope
Amazing video!
I'd love to see you talk about Hanford Reach National monument. It's a really weird place, half wildlife habitat preservation half nuclear waste cleanup. There's a lot of history to it and no one talks about it.
Thanks keep up the great work!
Oh man, Hanford is really interesting. I first read about it in a book called "A River Lost" by Blaine Harden. It's fascinated me ever since and I'll definitely be covering it at some point here on the channel. Thanks for the suggestion!
Rocky mtn arsenal is kinda the same without the national designation
Dope video dude. I think a great idea would be doing a historical timeline of park history and big moments for national parks as a whole. Totally an original idea. By me.
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I don't feel like parks that have been 'demoted' are unfortunate, but rather have dodged a bullet. Once a place is protected, so much the better if it isn't designated a 'full' national park -- that only brings more mass tourism and the heavier-handed rules of the NPS (in particular, no hiking with your dog - grrr). I'd much rather visit places that are National Forest units or managed by the BLM or are state parks or other kinds of natural areas.
You did Mackinac!! Thank you!!!
Haha, yep! Fascinating park with a fascinating story. Might even deserve it's own video at some point!
There's a couple National Monuments that were decommissioned in Colorado that I've always wanted to learn more about... they have heavy ties with the 4 great surveys of the American West in the 1800s... you should look into Wheeler National Monument and Mount of the Holy Cross National Monument...
Great suggestions, thanks!
Hi. Hope you have a great day. You're video was very interesting.
Appreciate that, thank you!
Of the 5 you listed, Mackinac is the only one no longer under Federal administration according to the picture of White Horse Hill National Game Preserve. It's interesting that of all the places that you would think should be protected and has vast historical significance and natural beauty, Mackinac is it. But I really am not bothered that it isn't a national park. Having the Feds running it is not much better than selling it to developers. The state has a pretty tight reign on the Island.
I'm never particularly happy when any particular place is 'promoted' to a full national park. The crowds inevitably increase due to the publicity and the management become more heavy-handed than when the land was managed by the state, the Forest Service, BLM or others. I often hike with my dog, am a mountain biker, and enjoy dispersed camping. National Parks typically prohibit all these activities, and so we often find ourselves having to specifically avoid national parks when enjoying the great outdoors.
You brought up some things I didn't know or hadn't thought about! Thanks! Having "National Park" status doesn't automatically make something "better".
Excellent research, as always. Do you know the story of Waterloo National Park in Southeast Michigan? Created in the 1930's as a training area for WPA and CCC workers, Waterloo is now Waterloo State Recreation Area. I think you would find its history fascinating.
I had not heard of it until now, but looking into it a little bit, it looks like it was one of the Recreational Demonstration Areas created during the Depression (part of the same program that created Catoctin Mountain Park and Prince William Forest Park). Those have a really fascinating history (which I touched on in my Catoctin video), and it looks like Waterloo is no different! I love areas like that and their connections to conservation history. Very cool, thanks for sharing!
Great info! Thanks!!
Thanks for watching!
They did some tree ring research on the logs; they turned out to be newer than 1809. Woops! I worked at San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park for 30 years. It was a private museum, then part of Golden Gate National Recreation Area, then a National Historical Park. Some other parks have been private museums. You might want to discuss those sites. TM retired but interested
I have been to Sully’s Hill many times over the last 70 years.
Have you ever done anything about "Molly Pitcher's Well" or any of her lore?
I volunteer at a museum wheee I present a piece that includes Molly Pitcher. A patron told me about the amusing history of the "well" and how it was dug, claimed, and disproven. Then I think they "found" or dug another one. It could make for an interestong video.
Had never heard of her or the well, but that's a cool story for sure! Thanks for sharing!
You forgot Mystery Flesh Pit NP... use to love that place
How could I forget 😂
How about covering state parks that should / could be national parks? eg Custer State Park, Goblin Valley State Park.
Good topic suggestion! I haven't covered many State Parks on the channel yet, but I'm certainly open to it - lots of good state park stories out there. Thanks!
I learned a little bit about Mackinac Island in my history of the national parks class so that was interesting to see
It's the one that gets overlooked the most I feel like simply because it was "demoted" before National Parks really became a thing. Super interesting history though!
Laura S. Walker State Park in South Georgia used to be a National Park (Laura S. Walker National Park) from 1937-41.
The nearby Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge is one of those places that would have been an amazing National Park had most of the Swamp not been logged. The Wildlife Refuge is protecting what is left & what has grown back since the naval store days.
So... this comment sent me down a bit of a rabbit hole lol! I did find some info from the "Friends of Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites" referring to it as a "National Park," but I couldn't find any official documentation from the NPS that it was considered an actual _National Park_ . Best I can tell (and again, this is just what I could find online), Laura S. Walker was _a park_ under Federal control (from a New Deal-era land reclamation project), but never held the title _National Park_ . Super pedantic, I know, but I'm weird about these administrative divisions and titles lol. If you have any other resources I could look into, I'd love to learn more. I'm happy to be wrong on this one!
@@NationalParkDiaries I wouldn't know any other resources, but I know it was a CCC camp. Some of the older buildings are old CCC cabins.
If you ever venture out into other federal lands (non-NPS federal lands), the Okefenokee would make a fantastic episode. It's my favorite Interior Dept site. So beautiful!
59 seconds and I’m subscribed ✌️
Welcome to the community!
This is truly current history facts of the workings of the NPS. Thank you for sharing
Thanks for watching!
National Park Diaries, very interesting video, and well done. However, on the NPS website, I found long ago that they list 25 classes. Which ones don't make your list, and why?
1. National Park
2. National Monument
3. National Preserve
4. National Historical Park
5. National Historic Site
6. National Battlefield
7. National Military Park
8. National Battlefield Park
9. National Memorial
10. National Recreation Area
11. National Seashore
12. National Lakeshore
13. National River
14. National Wild & Scenic River
15. National Reserve
16. National Parkway
17. National Trail
x18. National Scenic Trail
19. National Monument & Historic Shrine
20. Scenic & Recreational River
21. Int’l. Historical Park & Ecological Preserve
22. Int’l. Historic Park and Ecological Reserve
23. National Park for the Performing Arts
24. Mountain Park
25. National Monument & Preserve
Ah, good question! A few of those listings aren't "official" designations, just one-off titles that certain parks have. For example Catoctin Mountain Park - "Mountain Park" isn't classified as a specific NPS designation, just a title that Catoctin has by itself because of its somewhat weird administrative history. Same with the other listings you mentioned. The ones I talk about in the video are all of the "official" designations.
@@NationalParkDiaries, thanks for the clarification.
Mr. NPD, at the risk of crossing the line to annoying, what are the others in the list that don't make the cut?
I made a whole video about them here: ruclips.net/video/Kh1xBrLF7JY/видео.htmlsi=vOca3CqNrmgjUBy3
I remember seeing Platte National Park on old maps and wondering what was there. You never heard anything about it.
You can still visit it today - it's part of Chickasaw NRA. Would love to do that myself and see a portion of forgotten NPS history
You should check out the tribal national park at red cliff Wisconsin
Tribal National Parks are a fascinating subject! Thanks for the suggestion!
Please do a video on Old Kasaan. I am Haida from Prince of Wales island in Alaska and would love to see it
I've actually gotten several recommendations for this one and it sounds like a fascinating topic. I'll definitely be covering it at some point!
General Grant NP? Or was that a name change to Kings Canyon NP? and now administered jointly with Sequoia
Yeah, technically just a name change and acreage increase. And it wasn't "demoted" like the others in this video since it kept its NP status. But, super fascinating story nonetheless and a good one for a future video!
Something I would like to hear about is how we can interact with these parks.
Talk about perhaps lessor know trails and adventures. Paint more of a picture. I come to these channels to be inspired. Its escapism! Please don't talk so much about environmental issues. I so care about them but I need mental rest from all the negatively in the news. I want to learn about the history, the plabts and animals and the geology and learn about the dangers of the parks.
Macinac is beautiful either way highly recommend
Definitely want to make it up there one of these days!
I'd love to see the complete list.
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Pictured Rocks in MI has National park status. I think its important that MI has some areas of scenic value.
I think Pictured Rocks is a National Lakeshore, managed by the NPS/Dept. of Interior, but not a full fledged National Park (Grand Teton NP as an example).
@@PurpleandGeauxld That makes sense. I know you would know the proper status of it.
Sulphur OK, where Platt was(is), stinks 24/7 if you like Sulphur you'd like Sulphur.....pretty area though. In laws lived there.
I love the Abraham Lincoln Birthplace. I am not so sure about the need as National Park, but its a beautiful place and close to other really cool places like Gethsemane Abbey and some awesome distilleries with historic significance.
I really enjoyed my visit to Lincoln Birthplace! I tacked it on to a trip to Mammoth Cave (along with Lincoln Boyhood in Indiana) and had a wonderful time. Small, quiet, contemplative - really great experience.
I love all of those.@@NationalParkDiaries
I my opinion the distinction between parks has shifted with Gateway Arch. I’d rather see Lincoln’s birthplace or Fort McHenry (which I love Fort McHenry) as a full park before the arch.
Would be interesting if you covered the "Recreational Demonstration Areas" that were set to made National Parks but never were. It's funny that Pennsylvania had six (Ricketts Glen, French Creek, Raccoon Creek, Laurel Hill, Blue Knob, and Hickory Run State Parks) and were built up by the CCC, but currently has no National Parks. I think WWII ended that whole plan. Seems like the IUCN even classified some of them as National Parks until fairly recently.
I actually covered these briefly in the video I did about Catoctin Mountain Park and Camp David. They probably could be their own video as well, but if you need something to hold you over, you can check that one out!
We’ve been to Ricketts, Blue Knob, and Laurel Hill. I’d want to get to the others as well. The work of the CCC in these areas is really spectacular. Ricketts Glen is really underrated. It’s interesting that the one place in PA (Delaware Gap) they now want to make a NP is lackluster by comparison.
That’s interesting. I live near Raccoon Creek and saw an old map from the 40s or late 30s where it was labeled as a National Park. I had just assumed it was a mistake
Mackinac wasn’t the first state park, it was actually Yosemite that was first as it was a state park for years before the feds took it over…Mackinac was beaten by Niagara Falls State Park as the newest state park by months, and technically both were beaten by the Metropolitan parks around Boston by two years but those weren’t opened to the public until 1896
Minnesota’s Itasca State Park was also established earlier than Mackinac (as a state park), in 1891.
Roadless areas video please!
That's been at the front of my mind recently! Might start working on that soon 👌
I’m from Michigan and I cringe when I here people pronounce it wrong. Good job on doing it right 🎉
Hahaha, thank you!
You should do a deep dive on Kings Canyon National Park one of the least known and least used national park. And Don’t include Sequoia 😂
King's Canyon does have a really interesting history, especially with its beginnings as General Grant NP. Thanks for the suggestion!
My man forgot about the Mystery Flesh Pit National Park
Silly me 😂
Fine episode. Subscribed to this series. Wish it had been up and running when I was working on NPS history for the 75th Anniversary.
By the way, have you done/are you doing an episode about the NPS/UC Berkeley connection?
Welcome to the community, happy to have you here! I've done episodes on Stephen Mather and Horace Albright, both of whom graduated from UCB, but other than that I haven't touched on it much. Do you have any resources or recommendations? I don't know much about the relationship, honestly.
@NationalParkDiaries Yes, I worked with the Mather family on a series of workshops for GGNRA rangers about the connections. It's been a while, but I'll see what I can turn up in the storage unit. Albright's book on the Birth of the National Park Service is excellent; Shankland's Steve Mather of the National Parks ditto. There is a Stephen Mather archive in the Bancroft Library; not much there, mainly UC student stuff, but worth checking out. The NPS has an excellent website about the first Park Naturalists conference, held at Berkeley; the group is photographed on the steps of (as I recall) Hilgard Hall and the entire conference publication is there: www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/symposia/conference-pn1/proceedingst.htm
As a Michigander he got Mackinac pronounced properly
I’m glad these places are still being persevered in other ways
Same!
Hope Gateway Arch is the next one
Could you do a video on the history of the national park passport program?
That's a good one - I'll add it to my list!
I haven't scene any of your vlogs I didn't like...yet!!!!
Be Warned:)
Cheers,
Rik Spector
Hahaha, thanks Rik! I'll try and keep the streak going 😂
@@NationalParkDiaries “scene “was intentional😁
? Have you looked into our local, Blackwell school, for natives pre civil rights. now a Monument last month
I read the story of the Blackwell Schools for the first time in National Parks Magazine just a few months ago. I'd love to cover it here on the channel someday.
I love looking at NPS properties of the past. My favorite has to be Papago Saguaro NM. People who live in Phoenix, have no idea that the NPS set aside the Papago Park area as a prime example of saguaro cacti, and the history of the WW2 POW camp (where the largest POW escape on American soil took place). NPS got frustrated by so many people going there, said it ruined the ecosystem. Were happy to give it over to the city, and then established Saguaro NP down by Tucson as the new site of saguaro preservation.
So much fascinating history in these places! That's why I love telling their stories!
I've visited all 5. Sully's Hill was fantastic for what it is. There's a driving trail with tons of wildlife visible - especially prairie dogs and bison. Fun Fact: The name stayed Sully's Hill until just a few years go when the recrationally offended mustered up a bunch of manufactured outrage at anything named after a white man and so now it's got some other name.
Love the sweatshirt
👌👌👌
The man made NP in St.Louis should be changed back to a NM.
I've got a video about that!