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Year
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Hint
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Answer
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1916
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This president signs a bill which creates the National Park Service
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Woodrow Wilson
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1917
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This man is appointed to be the first director of the NPS
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Stephen Mather
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1918
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Members of this religious group successfully lobby to rename Mukuntuweap National Monument to Zion National Monument
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Mormon
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1919
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This president, hunter, and conservationist dies
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Theodore Roosevelt
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1920
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For the first time, annual visitation of national parks exceeds this round number
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1 Million
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1921
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Denali National Park established kennels for this unique sport
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Dogsledding
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1922
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This man, an escaped slave who was the third african american graduate of West Point and the first black superintendent of a National Park, dies on a mission in Nigeria
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Charles Young
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1923
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This Utah National Monument, which would later become a National Park, is named in honor of a Mormon pioneer with the first name Ebenezer
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Bryce Canyon
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1924
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This iconic copper statue is proclaimed a National Monument
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Statue of Liberty
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1925
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This fort, from which Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem, is designated a National Monument
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Fort McHenry
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1926
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Calvin Coolidge refers to this giant sequoia, named after a president and civil war general, as "the Nation's Christmas tree"
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General Grant
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1927
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Blasting begins on this monument in the Black Hills
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Mount Rushmore
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1928
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This hotel, named for a nearby geyser, is finally completed with the construction of its west wing
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Old Faithful Inn
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1929
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Lafayette National Park, the first east of the Mississippi, is renamed to this
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Acadia
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1930
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Sunset Crater Volcano, the largest volcano of this unique type, is protected in Arizona
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Cinder Cone
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1931
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Congress passes a law providing for the creation of the first international conservation area in the US, combining Alberta's Waterton Lakes and this US National Park
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Glacier
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1932
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Work begins on this project, the first major National Parkway and the most-visited unit in the NPS system
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Blue Ridge Parkway
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1933
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This alliterative New Deal policy is created, putting young men to work on infrastructure projects in National Parks and other public lands
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Civilian Conservation Corps
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1934
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This National Park, the most-visited in the country, is established
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Great Smoky Mountains
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1935
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This dam is completed, creating the reservoir that would become Lake Mead National Recreation Area
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Hoover Dam
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1936
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An international peace memorial is established in northern Ohio to celebrate the victory of this American commodore in one of the most important naval battles in the War of 1812
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Commodore Perry
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1937
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This National Scenic Trail, the first of the 'big three', is completed
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Appalachian Trail
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1938
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This painter, famous for paintings of New Mexico landscapes and desert flowers, visits Yosemite National Park
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Georgia O'Keefe
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1939
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Marian Anderson sings a concert from this DC National Memorial, because she was barred from Constitution Hall for being black. Nearly 25 years later, Martin Luther King, Jr. would deliver his "I have a dream" speech from the same spot.
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Lincoln Memorial
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1940
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Kings Canyon National Park, in California, is established along the northern border of this other National Park, forming the first pair of bordering parks
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Sequoia
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1941
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This legendary National Park photographer and Sierra Club member is contracted by the NPS for the first time
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Ansel Adams
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1942
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This "mountain warfare" division of the army, which would be instrumental in driving Nazis from the Italian alps, trains during the winter on snowy Mount Rainier
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10th Mountain Division
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1943
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This all-black squadron of military pilots, who would later be honored with a National Historic site in Georgia, deploys to North Africa
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Tuskeegee Airmen
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1944
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US forces land on Agat Beach on this island as part of the campaign to recapture it. Agat Beach would become the center of the War in the Pacific National Historic Park
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Guam
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1945
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This weapon is tested for the first time in what would become White Sands National Park
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Nuclear Bomb
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1946
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Following the end of this war, yearly visitation of national parks quadruples
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WWII
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1947
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Marjory Stoneman Douglass famously describes the Everglades as a "River of Grass" in a book which started the effort to preserve the area
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1948
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A National Monmuent is dedicated to preserve this sea fort in Charleston, the site of the first battle of the Civil War
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Fort Sumter
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1949
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San Juan National Historic Site becomes the first NPS property in this US territory
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Puerto Rico
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1950
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Congress passes a law which established this national park, but also provided that there would be no further expansion of National Parks or Monuments in Wyoming without congressional approval
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Grand Teton
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1951
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The modern NPS logo, shaped like this object, is authorized as the official NPS emblem
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Arrowhead
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1952
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This river, which would later be designated as Ohio's only National Park, catches fire due to extreme levels of pollution
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Cuyahoga
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1953
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Bernard DeVoto publishes a widely-read article suggesting that this drastic action be taken by the NPS in order to highlight the level of underfunding and disrepair in the parks as Congress continued to pilfer funds for other purposes
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Close the National Parks
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1954
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This famous island, the "gateway to America", shuts its doors after processing more than 12 million immigrants. It would later become part of a National Monument
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Ellis Island
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1955
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This woman refuses to surrender her seat on a bus, kicking off the Montgomery Bus Boycott. This is one of many events celebrated by the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument
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Rosa Parks
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1956
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128 people die in this type of tragedy over Grand Canyon National Park, making this event the single most common cause of death in the park
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Plane Crash
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1957
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This famous author of "The Monkey Wrench Gang" leaves his job as a park ranger in Arches National Park
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Edward Abbey
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1958
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Warren Harding and his team make the first ascent of "the nose", a climbing route on this Yosemite monolith
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El Capitan
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1959
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This natural disaster strikes in Yellowstone National Park, killing 28
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Earthquake
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1960
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The Hubbel Trading Post National Historic Site is established to celebrate trade between white settlers and this southwest tribe, on whose reservation the site sits
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Navajo
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1961
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Yogi Bear, a resident of this fictional National Park, appears for the first time in his own show
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Jellystone
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1962
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Point Reyes National Seashore becomes the first one along this major body of water
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Pacific Ocean
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1963
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This new reservoir behind the Glen Canyon dam is named for a legendary explorer of the Colorado River
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Lake Powell
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1964
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The home of this preservationist and Sierra Club president is protected as a National Historic Site
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John Muir
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1965
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This object, the tallest thing in Missouri, is completed. It would later be designated, controversially, as a National Park in 2018
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Gateway Arch
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1966
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Dorothy Richardson Buell is successful in her effort to preserve this stretch of Lake Michigan coastline, which would later become Indiana's first National Park
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Indiana Dunes
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1967
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Just three years after this man ceased to be president, a National Historic Site is established in his honor. No other president has been honored with a NPS site more quickly.
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John F. Kennedy
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1968
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Backlash against development, including nuclear plants to power Miami, leads to the creation of this national monument which would later become a park
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Biscayne Bay
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1969
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This pro-LGBT riot, which would be recognized in a National Monument in 2016, occurs in New York
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Stonewall
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1970
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Ths home of this Polish-American revolutionary, who is also the namesake of the highest mountain in Australia, is added to the National Register of Historic Places
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Tadeusz Kościuszko
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1971
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This National Monument in southern California, named for the largest species of yucca plant, is redesignated as a National Park
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Joshua Tree
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1972
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Congress names the highway between Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks after this oil baron and philanthropist
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John D. Rockefeller
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1973
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This landmark piece of legislation is passed, providing for the protection of species near to extinction
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Endangered Species Act
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1974
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This president leaves office, becoming the first since the passage of the Antiquities Act who did not designate a single national monument
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Richard Nixon
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1975
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A National Historical Park in this city celebrates the bicentennial of the Battle of Bunker Hill
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Boston
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1976
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The southern half of Badlands National Park is returned to this native tribe, which now co-manages the park
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Oglala Lakota
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1977
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101 million acres of land in this state is preserved by a single law, including Misty Fjords, Admiralty Island, and Aniakchak National Monuments
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Alaska
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|
1978
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This trail, the longest north-south National Scenic Trail, is established
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Continental Divide Trail
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1979
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Protesters against the 1977 national monuments light an effigy of this president on fire
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Jimmy Carter
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1980
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This volcano explodes, killing 57
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Mount St. Helens
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1981
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This park, which contains a 73-mile stretch of Pacific coast, an inland mountain range, and the northernmost rainforest in the US, is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site
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Olympic National Park
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1982
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Construction begins on this National Memorial in DC, which consists of two long, straight walls of black granite etched with names
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Vietnam Veterans Memorial
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1983
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Redwood National Park is used as the filming location for the forest moon of Endor in this movie
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Star Wars: Return of the Jedi
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1984
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This US territory is included in the Federal Fish & Wildlife Restoration Act
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American Samoa
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|
1985
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The Election Day Floods strike Shenandoah River in this state, with more than 18 inches of rain recorded in a single day in Shenandoah National Park
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Virginia
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|
1986
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This National Park, the only one completely inside Nevada, is established and named after a large endorheic basin that covers much of the Western US
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Great Basin
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1987
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This National Historic Trail is designated, in honor of the 46,000 native americans who were forced out of their homeland and made to walk its bitter path
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Trail of Tears
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1988
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Following the establishment of the National Park of American Samoa, the total number of National Parks reaches this round number
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50
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|
1989
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Despite the efforts of conservation groups, the superindentendent of Yosemite choses not to ban this form of transport from the park
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Cars
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1990
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This volcano in Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, widely considered to be the most active on earth, buries the town of Kalapana and kills over 100 with a lava flow
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Kilauea
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1991
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Montana's Custer Battlefield National Monument is renamed to this as part of a plan to recognize & honor native combatants
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Little Bighorn Battlefield
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1992
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A National Historic Site in Kansas is named after this supreme court case, possibly the most famous in US history
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Brown v. Board of Education
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1993
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This latino rights advocate and co-founder of the National Farm Workers Association dies on his property in California, which would later become a national monument
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Cesar Chavez
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1994
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The first US-Mexico transboundary conservation area is created following the establishment of Canon de Santa Elena national park in this Mexican state, across the border from Big Bend
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Chihuahua
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1995
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Eight of these mammals are reintroduced to Yellowstone
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Wolves
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1996
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This national monument, whose size would later be slashed in half by President Trump, is established
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Grand Staircase-Escalante
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1997
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"Old Grey Guy", a large wolf, crosses 15 miles of ice to this national park
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Isle Royale
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1998
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Two historic parks, one in the US and one in Canada, celebrate the centennial of this event that brought prospectors to the Yukon
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Klondike Gold Rush
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1999
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This tribe launches an ambitious effort to preserve the aquatic ecosystems in the Everglades and Big Cypress National Preserve
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Seminole
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2000
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Hanford Reach National Monument is established around nuclear facilities that were part of this WWII "project"
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Manhattan Project
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2001
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Roxanne Quimby uses her fortune to begin purchasing land around the highest mountain in Maine for the creation of this national monument
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Katahdin Woods and Waters
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2002
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Flight 93 National Memorial is established in Pennsylvania to celebrate the heroism of airline passengers during this major tragedy
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9/11
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2003
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Aron Ralston narrowly escapes a slot canyon in Canyonlands National Park, after foolishly endangering himself by hiking alone without telling anyone his itinerary. His 5-day ordeal would later be made into this hit movie
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127 hours
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2004
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This Nicholas Cage movie features a number of NPS sites, including Independence National Historical Park in Pennsylvania
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National Treasure
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2005
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An unusually wet winter creates a lake for the first time in decades in this National Park in California and Nevada
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Death Valley
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2006
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This band releases Dani California, a song about a girl who dies in Badlands National Park
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Red Hot Chili Peppers
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2007
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Two men are convicted for digging up two of these iconic plants from an Arizona national park
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Saguaro Cactus
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2008
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Utah loses a geologic treasure when this sort of feature came crashing down
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Sandstone Arch
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2009
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This famous historical documentarian, perhaps best known for his 9-part miniseries on the Civil War, releases a new series: National Parks, America's Best Idea
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Ken Burns
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2010
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The "America the Beautiful" mint series is kicked off when Hot Springs National Park was printed on this kind of currency
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Quarter
|
|
2011
|
Hurricane Irene causes significant damage in this famous Massachusetts seashore
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Cape Cod
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2012
|
For the first and only time in the history of Denali National Park, a tourist is killed by one of these animals
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Grizzly Bear
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2013
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This state, the last one without an NPS site, is finally given one: the First State National Historical Park
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Delaware
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2014
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Two boy scout leaders videotape themselves destroying a hoodoo in a park in this state
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Utah
|
|
2015
|
Barack Obama forces the USGS to stop referring to Denali by this outdated name, thirty-five years after the park changed its name
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Mount McKinley
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2016
|
This species, prominently featured on the NPS logo, is named the US National Mammal
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Bison
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