Kraus' Recreation and Leisure in Modern Society 10th Edition by Daniel McLean, Linda Dayer-Berenson, Brian Luke Seaward, Amy Hurd

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The Creation of the National Park Service
The creation of new federal agencies is a complicated and highly political process. Even though the need is apparent to those most concerned, there is always the task of convincing key leaders in the executive and legislative branches of government. Typically, a proposal for a new agency moves forward from the executive branch to the legislative branch. Although not always the case, the presence of a growing number of national parks administered by the Department of the Interior-but without a direct governing body-resulted in inconsistent administration of the national parks. "There military engineers and cavalrymen developed park roads and buildings, enforced regulations against hunting, grazing, timber cutting, and vandalism, and did their best to serve the visiting public. Civilian appointees superintended the other parks, while the monuments received minimal custody. In the absence of an effective central administration, those in charge operated without coordinated supervision or policy guidance." a
The National Park Service was created by act of Congress in 1916, 44 years after the establishment of the world's first national park-Yellowstone National Park. A number of national parks were created between 1872 and the early 1900s. By 1916, the Department of the Interior was responsible for a number of national parks and national monuments and, yet, had no organizational structure to manage the growing number of areas dedicated to preservation and recreation. In the absence of a formal structure and, in many cases, guidelines, the areas set aside by Congress were vulnerable to competing interests. Matters seemed to have come to a head when in 1913 Congress authorized the creation of a dam in Hetch Hetchy Valley of Yosemite National Park.
"When San Francisco sought to dam Yosemite's Hetch Hetchy Valley for a reservoir after the turn of the century, the utilitarian and preservationist wings of the conservation movement came to blows. Over the passionate opposition of John Muir and other park supporters, Congress in 1913 permitted the dam." a In 1915, Stephen T. Mather, a well-connected and wealthy Chicago businessman, complained to Secretary of the Interior Franklin K. Lane about the mismanagement of the parks. Lane responded by inviting Mather to serve as his assistant for park matters, and Mather accepted. Serving as Mather's aide and guiding the legislation through Congress, Horace M. Albright, working hand in hand with his superior, crusaded "for a National Parks Bureau" and the two of them "effectively blurred the distinction between utilitarian conservation and preservation by emphasizing the economic value of parks as tourist meccas." a
Not relying wholly on their contacts within Congress, the two men initiated a public relations campaign that resulted in articles in the Saturday Evening Post , National Geographic , and other popular magazines. Mather "hired his own publicist and obtain funds from 17 western railroads to produce the National Parks Portfolio, a lavishly illustrated publication sent to Congressmen and other influential citizens." On August 25, 1916, Congress approved the creation of the National Park Service (NPS), and President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation. The legislation specifically required the NPS "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects in the wild life therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." a
How do you think the National Park system would be different today if it did not have an agency to manage it