The national and state park partnership: state parks create an enduring legacy within the national park system.

For national park enthusiasts of the 21st century, it is interesting to speculate what Stephen Mather's reaction would be to today's national park system. It is safe to say that Mather, often referred to as the "father" and first director of the National Park Service (NPS), might well be blown away by the almost bewildering collection of designations applied to areas managed solely or cooperatively by the NPS.

Some of the nomenclature that would be new to Mather would include national seashore, national lakeshore, national river, national recreation area, national preserve, national reserve, national scenic trail and national heritage corridor.

Perhaps equally surprising to this champion of our country's most outstanding natural and scenic areas would be the number of present-day national park areas that contain lands that were formerly, or are presently, state parks.

In 1921, at the primary instigation of Mather, a conference was convened in Des Moines, Iowa, by Edgar R. Harlan, curator of the Iowa State Historical Department, for the purpose of discussing the potential problems for park development throughout the country. This National Conference on Parks produced a series of resolutions on the purposes and values of public parks. After a second conference adopted the moniker of the National Conference on State Parks (NCSP), the drafting of criteria for establishing and developing state parks became an evolving exercise.

For more than 50 years, the NCSP provided a forum for discussions relating to state parks. During this period, state parks matured into "major league" providers of outdoor recreation and protectors of significant examples of our natural and cultural heritage. In 1974, the NCSP became the National Society of Park Resources.

Mather's rationale for promoting the establishment of state parks is most frequently attributed to the increasing numbers of requests he was receiving (including lobbying from members of Congress) to support various national park proposals, many of which he felt did not meet his concept of areas of "national significance." The creation of a viable system of state parks could provide an alternative home for these national park proposals.

Whatever the motivation, it seems clear that Mather was dedicated to a "two-tier" system of parks--national parks that represented the most awe-inspiring and superlative places in America (to be administered by the NPS) and areas of regional or lesser significance managed by other entities, primarily state park agencies.

With this as background, it is interesting to analyze the role of state parks in the evolution of the present-day national park system. Nearly 30 areas in the system have some association with state parks in their ancestry. In many instances, this facet of history is largely untold at the respective park areas and represents an opportunity to more completely interpret the park story to visitors.

State park and national park relationships first converged in California where Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Big Trees were set aside for public park purposes by transfer from the General Land Office to the state of California in 1864. The establishment of Yosemite National Park in 1890 created a "doughnut" national park surrounding the "hole" of state park land. After 40-plus years of state management, these lands were ceded back to the federal government in 1906, eliminating this confusing, if not conflicting, administrative arrangement.

During the same period, a reversal of this pattern took place. In 1875, Mackinac Island in Michigan became the nation's second national park, just three years after the establishment of Yellowstone. By 1895, protection for the park became threatened by the pullout of the U.S. Army at Fort Mackinac and the land was returned to the state where it remains as one of the most unique parks in the state system.

Concurrently with the evolution of this system of national park areas, state park systems were slowly beginning to emerge. Beginning with the dedication of the Niagara Falls State Reservation in 1885, New York demonstrated outstanding leadership by preserving the Adirondack and Catskill Forest and Park Preserves and Letchworth State Park, among others. By the time the Des Moines conference took place in 1921, Connecticut had established 22 state parks. Yet fewer than 20 states had state parks and seven of these had only one each.

Subsequent to the Yosemite transactions, the next instance where a state park was "absorbed" into a unit of the national park system seems to have occurred in Texas, where Big Bend National Park (authorized 1935; established 1944) included lands comprising Texas Canyons State Park, established in 1933.

The absorption of state park lands within NPS areas through the years has followed differing patterns. In some instances, states have been agreeable to the transfer, in effect a donation, of their parks to federal ownership and management. Perhaps it was flattering to have their state areas considered worthy of inclusion in a larger area of national significance.

Perhaps the state may have seen a benefit in having the federal government assume the costs of managing the park(s) to be transferred, thus providing additional resources to manage the remaining state parks. State legislators, motivated by tourism, may also have been convinced that a national park area within the state would be potentially a greater attraction than the present state park(s).

A classic example of the absorption model is the Ozark National Scenic Riverways (authorized in 1964) that contains three former Missouri state parks, including the notable Big Spring State Park of nearly 6,000 acres. Together with other lands acquired along the Current and Jacks Fork Rivers in southeast Missouri, Ozark NSR today comprises some 80,000 acres of superb river environment and recreational opportunity. Other examples of state park donations in the formation of major national parks include Royal Palm State Park (Everglades National Park), Benzie and D.H. Day State Parks (Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore) and Buffalo River and Lost Valley State Parks (Buffalo National River).

Other attempts to absorb state parks into newly established units of the NPS have not been as successful. The traditional policy of the NPS was to pre-suppose that the land existing within proposed national park areas would simply be donated. This recipe has not always been well-received. Proposals for some national park areas anticipated donations of the most successful areas of state park systems. The Administrative History of Assateague Island National Seashore (authorized in 1965) documents years of disagreement between the NPS and the state of Maryland concerning the ultimate development, management and administration of Assateague State Park, established in the late 1950s. Assateague State Park, within the authorized boundary of the National Seashore, remains under state management today, albeit with much improved state and federal cooperation.

Indiana Dunes State Park (authorized in 1923, opened in 1926) was the result of years of preservation efforts to save world class dunes along the south shore of Lake Michigan. Indeed, even Steve Mather recognized the unique nature of these magnificent dunes and coveted their inclusion in the newly established NPS. However, by 1921, Mather had become discouraged by the encroaching industrial developments on both ends of the dunes and the lack of political support in Indiana and in the Harding administration in Washington for a federal park project. He decided the fate of dunes preservation lay with the state of Indiana. This was not to be the final answer, however, as Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore did eventually enter the national park "family" in 1966.

During the intervening years, Indiana Dunes State Park became one of the most popular and financially profitable units in the Indiana system. The fact that Indiana Dunes State Park remains today under state ownership and management within the National Lakeshore attests to the complexity and political obstacles of a transfer to the federal government. Such a donation would require the approval of the state legislature, decommissioning by the Indiana Department of Natural Resources and final approval by the governor.

Perhaps the most prominent example of the unrealized "absorption model" is Redwood National Park. The architects of this ambitious national park proposal anticipated the eventual unified federal ownership of all lands within the authorized boundary. Although more than 30 years have elapsed since the park's establishment in 1968, such unification has yet to be achieved. California continues to operate Jedediah Smith, Del Norte and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks within the boundary of Redwood National Park, which provided the majority of visitor camping facilities.

The establishment of NPS areas absorbing state park lands has sometimes led to charges of NPS "land grabbing," similar to the time when National Forest or Bureau of Land Management lands had been transferred to NPS. However, an examination of the historical record will show that establishing national park areas has not always been a one-way street, benefiting only the NPS. In addition to the previously mentioned Mackinac Island reversion to Michigan, lands comprising Papago-Saguaro National Monument were transferred to the state of New Mexico for a state park in 1930.

In 1937, Lewis & Clark Caverns National Monument became a Montana state park; Lake Texoma National Recreation Area went to Oklahoma in 1949; and Millerton Lake National Recreation Area in California became a state recreation area in 1957. An interesting "full circle transfer" occurred with Santa Rosa Island off the panhandle coast of Florida. This national monument, established in 1939, was transferred to Escambia County in 1946, only to be transferred back to NPS upon establishment of Gulf Islands National Seashore in 1971.

The late 1970s seems to have signaled a movement away from the "absorption" model and toward a "partnership" model in the creation of new national park proposals that involved state park holdings. National park areas established in later years, listed in the table on page 58, illustrate the evolution of state park antecedents in the national park system. "Absorbed" has been nearly completely replaced by "contains."

Illustrative of this evolution is the recently added Lewis and Clark National and State Historical Park in Washington and Oregon. This comprehensive alternative in commemorating and preserving sites associated with the Lewis and Clark expedition in the above states, provides for continuing state park management of Fort Canby (Wash.), Fort Columbia (Wash.), Ecola and Fort Stevens (Ore.), along with NPS management of Fort Clatsop National Memorial and several additional sites not under state park control. This alternative provides a framework for cooperation and coordination for interpretive programming, and special programs and events conducted at all of the Lewis and Clark sites in the region, regardless of ownership.

Perhaps the greatest contribution of the NPS to the establishment of state parks came through the program of Recreation Demonstration Areas (RDA). In this visionary depression-era effort, the federal government purchased blocks of sub-marginal farm land for rehabilitation as public parks. Some 40 such projects throughout the country resulted in 31 areas now serving as state parks, many of which are major components of their respective state park systems. Some of the more notable examples of present-day state parks that were formerly RDAs include Custer State Park (S.D.), Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park (Ga.), Lake of the Ozarks (Mo.), William B. Umstead (N.C.), French Creek (Pa.), and Bear Brook (N.H.). Two RDAs that remain units of the NPS are Catoctin Mountain Park (Md.) and Prince William Forest Park (Va.).

While the NPS has been a key player in the evolution of state parks, we should also note the critical role the states have played in the development of the NPS. Nearly all the national parks that were established from privately held lands, especially in the early years, were the result of generous state acquisition programs that culminated in donations to the federal government of hundreds of thousands of acres. Several NPS areas include former state lands that, although never state parks, certainly owe their preservation to state government entities such as state historical or state forest agencies.

Indeed, when we begin to study the relationships of state and national parks, it quickly becomes evident we have entered into a phase where state and federal cooperation is not only encouraged, but recognized as essential in meeting the demands of providing recreational opportunities and preserving natural and cultural resources. And so, as we reflect on the evolution of national and state park programs, it is fitting that we acknowledge the interrelationship and common goals these agencies have shared. State parks have truly become an enduring legacy in the national park system.

Table 1: Areas within the National Park System that contain lands
comprising former state parks or have presently managed state parks
within their authorized boundaries:

                                  Date
Area Name                     Auth/Est    State Park Connection

Yosemite National Park           /1890    Absorbed state park lands in
                                          valley and Mariposa

Big Bend National Park        1935/1944   Absorbed Texas Canyons State
                                          Park

Everglades National Park      1934/1947   Absorbed Royal Palm State
                                          Park

Saratoga Nat. Hist. Park      1938/1948   Absorbed Saratoga (State)
                                          Battlefield

Arkansas Post Nat. Mem.            1960   Absorbed Arkansas Post State
                                          Park

Lincoln Boyhood Nat. Mem.          1962   Formerly Nancy Hanks Lincoln
                                          State Memorial

Ozark Nat. Scenic Riverways   1964/1972   Absorbed Alley, Big and
                                          Round Springs St. Parks

Delaware Water Gap N RA            1965   Absorbed George W.
                                          Childs State Park (1983)

Assateague Island Nat. Sea.        1965   Contains Assateague State
                                          Park

Nez Perce Nat. Hist. Park          1965   Absorbed Spalding State
                                          Park (1983)

George Rogers Clark NHP            1966   Formerly George Rogers
                                          Clark State Park

Indiana Dunes Nat. Lake.           1966   Contains Indiana Dunes
                                          State Park

Redwood National Park            /1968    Contains 1. Smith, Del Norte
                                          and Prairie Cr. St. Pks.

Sleeping Bear Nat. Lake.      1970/1977   Absorbed Benzie and D.H.
                                          Day State Parks

Gulf Islands Nat. Seashore         1971   Absorbed Magnolia (Miss.)
                                          State Park

Buffalo National River             1972   Absorbed Buffalo River and
                                          Lost Valley State Parks

Gateway Nat. Rec. Area           /1972    Absorbed Sandy Hook (N.J.)
                                          State Park

Golden Gate Nat. Rec. A.         /1972    Absorbed and contains
                                          several state parks

Valley Forge NHP                   1976   Formerly Valley Forge
                                          State Park

Chattahoochee River NRA          /1978    Absorbed Chattahoochee
                                          River State Park (1983)

Ebey's Landing N. Hist. Res.       1978   Contains Fort Ebey and Fort
                                          Casey State Parks

New River Gorge Nat. Riv.          1978   Absorbed Sandstone Falls and
                                          Grandview St. Parks and
                                          contains Babcock State Park

Santa Monica Mtns. NRA           /1978    Contains several state parks

San Antonio Missions NHP           1978   Absorbed San Jose Mission
                                          State Park

Miss. Nat. Riv. & Rec. Area        1988   Contains Fort Snelling
                                          State Park

Bluestone Nat. Scenic River        1988   Contains (portion) Pipestem
                                          Resort State Park

Little River Canyon N. Pres.       1992   Contains DeSoto State Park

Lewis & Clark NHP                  2004   Contains Fts. Canby,
                                          Columbia, etc.

* Authorization and establishment dates taken from The National Parks:
Index

* Note: The author welcomes additions or corrections to this listing.