National Wilderness Preservation System
The National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) of the United States protects federally managed wilderness areas designated for preservation in their natural condition. Activity on formally designated wilderness areas is coordinated by the National Wilderness Preservation System. Wilderness areas are managed by four federal land management agencies: the National Park Service, the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.
The Wilderness Act protects exceptionally undisturbed natural areas and scenery, such as in the Ansel Adams Wilderness.
Acres of wilderness added by year
High Schells Wilderness, Nevada
Wilderness boundary marker in Idaho
The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government, within the U.S. Department of the Interior. The service manages all national parks; most national monuments; and other natural, historical, and recreational properties, with various title designations. The United States Congress created the agency on August 25, 1916, through the National Park Service Organic Act. Its headquarters are in Washington, D.C., within the main headquarters of the Department of the Interior.
In 1934, a series of ten postage stamps was issued to commemorate the reorganization and expansion of the National Park Service.
NPS Preliminary Survey party, Great Smoky Mountains, 1931
Grand Canyon National Park, south rim of canyon.
Customs House at the Salem Maritime National Historic Site in Salem, Massachusetts