Published: February 26, 2019
Even though Grand Canyon National Park had been known to Americans for over thirty years, it wasn't until 1919 that the Grand Canyon National Park Act was finally signed by President Woodrow Wilson. The first bill to establish the park was introduced in 1882, followed by unsuccessful attempts in 1883 and 1886. The Grand Canyon Forest Reserve was established in 1893 by President Benjamin Harrison, and President Theodore Roosevelt created the Grand Canyon Game Preserve in 1906. Other Senate bills were introduced and defeated in 1910 and 1911 to establish the site as a national park before the Grand Canyon National Park Act was signed. The National Park Service, established in 1916, assumed administration of the park. Source: National Park Service
In 1903, President Theodore Roosevelt visited the site and said: "The Grand Canyon fills me with awe. It is beyond comparison—beyond description; absolutely unparalleled through-out the wide world... Let this great wonder of nature remain as it now is. Do nothing to mar its grandeur, sublimity and loveliness. You cannot improve on it. But what you can do is to keep it for your children, your children's children, and all who come after you, as the one great sight which every American should see."
Did you know that controlled fires are good for the canyon’s landscape?
"Fire has been a part of the Colorado Plateau ecosystem for thousands of years. It naturally thins the forest, recycles nutrients into the soil and stimulates new plant growth. Fire managers at Grand Canyon National Park work to strike a balance between restoring and maintaining natural processes associated with fire, and protecting human life and property". (Source: U.S. Department of Interior – 13 things You Didn’t Know About Grand Canyon National Park)
Related Publications
36 CFR § 7.4 - Grand Canyon National Park
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16 U.S.C. 1 - National Parks, Military Parks, Monuments, AND Seashores
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65 Stat. 118 - An Act to protect scenic values along the Grand Canyon Park South Approach Highway (State 64) within the Kaibab National Forest, Arizona, and certain public domain lands under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Interior
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84 Stat. 825 - An Act to improve the administration of the national park system by the Secretary of the Interior, and to clarify the authorities applicable to the system, and for other purposes
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88 Stat. 2089 - Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act
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89 Stat. 172 - An act to amend the Grand Canyon National Park Enlargement Act (88 Stat. 2089)
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97 Stat. 909 - Public Lands and National Parks Act of 1983
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S. Rept. 114-184 - Grand Canyon Bison Management Act
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Other Resources
- 2019 Centennial Events (NPS)
- Plan Your Visit to Grand Canyon National Park (NPS).
- Northern Arizona University (NAU) Cline Library and Grand Canyon National Park Museum Collections, worked together to create "Splendor and Spectacle: the 100 Year Journey of Grand Canyon National Park."
- Browse the Government Publishing Office's online bookstore's collection of National Parks publications including, " A Living Canyon: Discovering Life at Grand Canyon” (NPS).
- Take a look at the challenges government officials faced in preserving and protecting one of the jewels of the National Park System, in "Polishing the Jewel: An Administrative History of Grand Canyon National Park” (NPS).