While national parks had existed since 1872, when Yellowstone National Park was created, there was no formal singular management before the Organic Act.
Instead, individual superintendents and Army troops oversaw parks, fending off poachers and loggers.
In the late 1800s and early 1900s, 14 more national parks and monuments arrived, including Utah’s Natural Bridges National Monument in 1908.
On Aug. 25, 1916, Wilson signed the act to create the National Park Service and protect historic sites and wildlife for future generations.
A few years later, Utah’s southeastern parks and monuments emerged: Hovenweep National Monument was established in 1923, Arches National Monument, now a park, was created in 1929 and Canyonlands National Park was recognized in 1964.
A century later, the park service operates more than 430 parks and places, welcoming a record 332 million visitors in 2024.
In July President Donald Trump passed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, rescinding more than $260 million in previously-approved funds for staffing, land conservation and habitat restoration, making future preservation efforts uncertain.
