Keeping Nature Natural:
The Impact of the National Park Service on Protected Land

Protected wilderness in America exists and is able to thrive uninterrupted and unharmed because of the National Parks System. 103 years ago, President Theodore Roosevelt used the authority of the office he held to create the National Wilderness Preservation System and the United States National Forest System by signing the Antiquities Act. This act placed a permanent safeguard on all flora and fauna within the protected land, among other things. Roosevelt’s proactivity brought preservation and conservation to a much larger scale. Today, the Department of Interior, park rangers, and tourists alike continue to uphold the mission statement of the National Park Service. American National Parks established a monumental sense of nationalism and will always hold great purpose with its rich history.