As a kid, I was a "collector." I had collections of rocks, seashells, butterflies, baseball cards, stamps, and U.S. pennies. I no longer have those collections, preferring, instead, to collect memories (and photographs) in a structured framework. One of these structures is bird lists: I actively maintain lists of world life birds, state birds, county birds, yard birds... this is all pretty obvious from most of the pages on my web site. In addition, ever since I was a teenager, I've been interested in "collecting" National Park Service (NPS) units. My father loved to travel, and I followed in his footsteps by searching out and visiting National Parks, National Monuments, National Battlefields and the like. I have a much-thumbed book (Butcher 1951) that structured these units as (a) National Parks, (b) National nature Monuments, and (c) National archeological/prehistory Monuments. This concept worked nicely for me, and then I adding (d) Civil War and other battlefield sites to serve my interest in those topics. Basically, I wanted to visit all the NPS areas in these categories. Now, as I create web pages on this "collection," I discover that the National Park Service has 385 units (as of early 2004; the number is always changing). Not all of them are of the same level of interest to me. Some I'll include in this project but others will be excluded. It works out that I've visited about 120 NP sites (about a third of them) and hope to add more all my life. Of course, I enjoy spectacular scenery wherever it may be found, and much is in State Parks or other areas, but this is strictly a "National Parks, Monuments, and NPS units" project. The only non-NPS units are National Monuments administered by other federal agencies.

Qualifying from this project are any of the following National Park Service areas:

58 National Parks: These are the largest and most spectacular lands protected by the National Park Service, at least in almost all cases (there are a couple "minor" National Parks). They are created by Congress. I have the pleasure of visiting about two-thirds of them so far, and hope to reach most of them someday. However, there are 7 more to see in Alaska and one in American Samoa that present major challenges in time and money to reach. photo: Half Dome in Yosemite NP, California

About 90 National Monuments: These are usually smaller units set aside to protect specific landscapes or sites of natural wonder or research value. Many are "National Nature Monuments" (to use an old phrase) but some focus on American prehistory, archaeology, or paleontology. They are created by Congress or by Presidential proclamation. Many critical sites were designated by such conservation-minded Presidents as Teddy Roosevelt and Bill Clinton. About 72 National Monuments are administered by National Park Service but 13 recently designated National Monuments are managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and another six are managed by the National Forest Service [list at bottom of this page]. photo: Montezuma Castle NM, Arizona

About 24 National Seashores, Lakeshores, Preserves, or Parkways: These tend to focus on natural habitats of national significance, although some also have historic interest. The 14 National Seashores and National Lakeshores protect often fragile ecosystems while providing many recreational opportunities. The 8 National Preserves encompass large areas of important habitat but permit more human impacts than Parks or Monuments. The two National Parkways that are included (Blue Ridge, Natchez Trace) have many scenic values and historic sites. [I do not include four other "parkways" in the Washington, D.C. vicinity that are primary traffic corridors.] photo: Bodie Island Lighthouse, Cape Hatteras NS

About 28 National Battlefields, National Battlefield Parks, National Military Parks, or Battlefield National Monuments: These preserve the sites of important battles in American history. Twenty are Civil War battlefields (I've been to most of them); the others are from the Revolutionary War, Indian conflicts, or the Spanish-American War. [Other battlefield sites are preserved as National Historic Parks or National Historic Sites (both included below) or National Monuments (included above), so there is some overlap between categories; these other designations protect sites from the War of 1812 or World War II in addition to the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, or various Indian conflicts.] photo: Union lines, Vicksburg NMP, Mississippi

About 128 National Historic Sites, National Historic Parks, National Historic Reserves plus about 35 National Memorials: The National Historic Sites and similar categories protect and interpret specific historic events or periods; the National Memorials generally revolve around a specific historic person, but can also include memorial statutes (e.g., the Lincoln Memorial) or sites (e.g., Mt. Rushmore) or places of specific tragedies (e.g., USS Arizona). This category has been less important to me. I've visited many when it was convenient but have not made it a priority in travel. These will thus be more poorly represented in this project. photo: Harry S. Truman's birthplace, Truman NHS, Missouri

The National Parks, Monuments, Battlefields and Historic Sites included in my project are arranged geographically, and can be reached via these links:

There are other NPS units that do not fit my personal definition of parks, monuments, or sites of major natural or historic interest. Excluded from my project are:

32 National Recreation Areas or National Rivers [these tend to be recreation sites, not nature reserves]
10 National Cemeteries
18 National Trails
5 National Heritage Corridors
2 National Reserves
and such misc. areas as National Heritage Area (1), National Monument of America (1), and National Memorial Parkways (2)

Agua Fria NM (Arizona)
Sonoran Desert NM (Arizona)
Ironwood Forest NM (Arizona)
Vermilion Cliffs NM (Arizona)
Grand Canyon Parashant NM (Arizona)
California Coastal NM (California)
Carrizo Plain NM (California)
Canyons of the Ancients NM (Colorado)
Upper Missouri River Breaks NM (Montana)
Pompeys Pillar NM (Montana)
Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks NM (New Mexico)
Cascade-Siskiyou NM (Oregon)
Grand Staircase-Escalante NM (Utah)

Admiralty Island NM (Alaska)
Misty Fjords NM (Alaska)
Giant Sequoia NM (California)
Santa Rosa/San Jacinto NM (California)
Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Monument (Washington)
Newberry National Volcanic National Monument (Oregon)

RECOMMENDED BOOKS and BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Albright, H.M., as told to R. Cahn. 1985. The Birth of the National Park Service: the Founding Years 1913-1933. Howe Bros., Salt Lake City UT. A very readable story of the early years.
• Butcher, D. 1951. Exploring our National Parks and Monuments. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. My favorite resource in my youth, and still useful today. Photos are black-and-white but lots of good details.
• Fodor's Complete Guide of America's National Parks, 11th ed. 2001. A fine pocket reference, easy to throw into the luggage, with 1-page capsule on all 384 NPS units at the time of publication.
• National Geographic's Guide to the National Parks of the United States, 4th ed. 2003. A colorful pocket reference, full of maps and photos, on 57 National Parks [Congaree NP didn't make it into this edition but Cuyahoga Valley NP did]. Much more in-depth on each park than the Fodor's guide but this one lacks National Monuments, etc.
• Tilden, F. 1970. The National Parks, revised ed. Alfred A. Knopf, New York. This book covered the NPS sites established through the 1960s in an engaging, anecdotal style. Short summaries of each NPS unit with scattered black-and-white photos.
• Zaslowsky, D., and T.H. Watkins. 1994. These American Lands. Wilderness Society, Washington, D.C.  Essays on the uneven history of stewardship of America's parks, wilderness, and public lands.

PHOTOS: All photos on this page are © 2004 Don Roberson; all rights reserved.

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