The U.S. National Park Service has 388 parks across the land that they administer. Over 60% of these parks are related to the history of this country in one way or another. Besides being an administrator of parks, you could also call them a protector of the ecology. After all, preserving some of these huge parks also preserves the land along with all the animals and flora enabling us to see how things were in the past.

Apostle Islands National Lakeshore

The National Park Service became a Department of the Interior on August 25, 1916 when then President Wilson signed a bill making it a separate bureau of the Department of the Interior, it was organized in 1917. Senator Reed Smoot of Utah and Representative William Kent of California sponsored the bills in Congress which resulted in establishment of the Service. Representative Kent's bill was passed by the House on July 1, 1916, and the Smoot bill was passed by the Senate as amended, August 5, 1916. (Mr. Kent had previously introduced three similar bills, and one had also been introduced in the House by Representative John E. Raker of California.). Getting the department established had not been an easy task.

Glacier Bay National Park

As president for 20 years of the former American Civic Association, which he founded, Dr. McFarland focused public opinion upon the need for a Government bureau to take charge of national parks. The act creating the Service was largely the result of consultation between officials of the Department of the Interior and Dr. McFarland, Frederick Law Olmsted, and the late Henry A. Barker, representing the American Civic Association. Stephen T. Mather, was the First Director and stayed in that post until ill health forced him out in 1929.

The National Park Service continues to acquire land. In 2006 money has been set aside to acquire land near Beaumont, Texas. The area is called Big Thicket National Preserve. Eight million dollars is needed to complete this acquirement. The request for funds for 2006 also contains a request to acquire 12,000+ acres of land. Teddy Roosevelt had often though of preserving land in this country and was a great advocate of conservation and the Federal acquisition of land to preserve it.

Mount St. Helens

Here is a list of the lands managed by the National Park Service:
(List Source: Wikipedia)

List is current up to 24 April 2004

National Parks

• Acadia National Park
• Arches National Park
• Badlands National Park
• Big Bend National Park
• Biscayne National Park
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
• Bryce Canyon National Park
• Canyonlands National Park
• Capitol Reef National Park
• Carlsbad Caverns National Park
• Channel Islands National Park
• Congaree National Park
• Crater Lake National Park
• Cuyahoga Valley National Park
• Death Valley National Park
• Denali National Park and Preserve
• Dry Tortugas National Park
• Everglades National Park
• Gates Of The Arctic National Park and Preserve
• Glacier National Park
• Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve
• Grand Canyon National Park
• Grand Teton National Park
• Great Basin National Park
• Great Smoky Mountains National Park
• Guadalupe Mountains National Park
• Haleakala National Park
• Hawaii Volcanoes National Park
• Hot Springs National Park
• Isle Royale National Park
• Joshua Tree National Park
• Katmai National Park and Preserve
• Kenai Fjords National Park
• Kobuk Valley National Park
• Lake Clark National Park and Preserve
• Lassen Volcanic National Park
• Mammoth Cave National Park
• Mesa Verde National Park
• Mount Rainier National Park
• National Park of American Samoa
• North Cascades National Park
• Olympic National Park
• Petrified Forest National Park
• Redwood National and State Parks
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• Saguaro National Park
• Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks
• Shenandoah National Park
• Theodore Roosevelt National Park
• Virgin Islands National Park
• Voyageurs National Park
• Wind Cave National Park
• Wrangell - St Elias National Park and Preserve
• Yellowstone National Park
• Yosemite National Park
• Zion National Park
  
  National Monuments

• Agate Fossil Beds National Monument
• Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve
• Aztec Ruins National Monument
• Bandelier National Monument
• Booker T Washington National Monument
• Buck Island Reef National Monument
• Cabrillo National Monument
• Canyon De Chelly National Monument
• Cape Krusenstern National Monument
• Capulin Volcano National Monument
• Casa Grande Ruins National Monument
• Castillo De San Marcos National Monument
• Castle Clinton National Monument
• Cedar Breaks National Monument
• Chiricahua National Monument
• Colorado National Monument
• Craters Of The Moon National Monument
• Devils Postpile National Monument
• Devils Tower National Monument
• Dinosaur National Monument
• Effigy Mounds National Monument
• El Malpais National Monument
• El Morro National Monument
• Ellis Island National Monument
• Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
• Fort Frederica National Monument
• Fort Matanzas National Monument
• Fort Moultrie National Monument
• Fort Pulaski National Monument
• Fort Stanwix National Monument
• Fort Sumter National Monument
• Fort Union National Monument
• Fossil Butte National Monument
• George Washington Birthplace National Monument
• George Washington Carver National Monument
• Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument
• Grand Canyon-Parashant National Monument
• Grand Portage National Monument
• Great Sand Dunes National Monument and Preserve
• Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument
• Hohokam Pima National Monument
• Hovenweep National Monument
• Jewel Cave National Monument
• John Day Fossil Beds National Monument
• Lava Beds National Monument
• Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument
• Minidoka Internment National Monument
• Montezuma Castle National Monument
• Muir Woods National Monument
• Natural Bridges National Monument
• Navajo National Monument
• Ocmulgee National Monument
• Oregon Caves National Monument
• Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
• Petroglyph National Monument
• Pinnacles National Monument
• Pipe Spring National Monument
• Pipestone National Monument
• Poverty Point National Monument
• Rainbow Bridge National Monument
• Russell Cave National Monument
• Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument
• Scotts Bluff National Monument
• Statue Of Liberty National Monument
• Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument
• Timpanogos Cave National Monument
• Tonto National Monument
• Tuzigoot National Monument
• Walnut Canyon National Monument
• White Sands National Monument
• Wupatki National Monument
• Yucca House National Monument

National Historical Parks, Memorials, and Battlefields

• Abraham Lincoln Birthplace National Historic Site
• Adams National Historical Park
• Aleutian World War II National Historic Area
• Alibates Flint Quarries National Monument
• Allegheny Portage Railroad National Historic Site
• American Memorial Park
• Andersonville National Historic Site
• Andrew Johnson National Historic Site
• Antietam National Cemetery
• Antietam National Battlefield
• Appomattox Court House National Historical Park
• Arkansas Post National Memorial
• Arlington House, The Robert E. Lee Memorial
• Battleground National Cemetery
• Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
• Big Hole National Battlefield
• Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor
• Boston National Historical Park
• Boston African American National Historic Site
• Brices Cross Roads National Battlefield Site
• Brown V Board Of Education National Historic Site
• California National Historic Trail
• Cane River National Heritage Area
• Cane River Creole National Historical Park
• Cape Henry National Memorial
• Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site
• Central High School National Historic Site
• Chaco Culture National Historical Park
• Chamizal National Memorial
• Charles Pinckney National Historic Site
• Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park
• Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
• Chimney Rock National Historic Site
• Christiansted National Historic Site
• Clara Barton National Historic Site
• Colonial National Historical Park
• Coronado National Memorial
• Cowpens National Battlefield
• Cumberland Gap National Historical Park
• Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
• De Soto National Memorial
• Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor
• Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve
• Edgar Allan Poe National Historic Site
• Edison National Historic Site
• Eisenhower National Historic Site
• Eleanor Roosevelt National Historic Site
• Eugene O'Neill National Historic Site
• Father Marquette National Memorial
• Federal Hall National Memorial
• Ford's Theatre National Historic Site
• Fort Bowie National Historic Site
• Fort Caroline National Memorial
• Fort Clatsop National Memorial
• Fort Davis National Historic Site
• Fort Donelson National Cemetery
• Fort Donelson National Battlefield
• Fort Laramie National Historic Site
• Fort Larned National Historic Site
• Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine
• Fort Necessity National Battlefield
• Fort Point National Historic Site
• Fort Raleigh National Historic Site
• Fort Scott National Historic Site
• Fort Smith National Historic Site
• Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site
• Fort Vancouver National Historic Site
• Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site
• Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site
• Fredericksburg National Cemetery
• Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park
• Friendship Hill National Historic Site
• General Grant National Memorial
• George Rogers Clark National Historical Park
• Gettysburg National Military Park
• Gettysburg National Cemetery
• Gloria Dei Church National Historic Site
• Golden Spike National Historic Site
• Grant-Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site
• Guilford Courthouse National Military Park
• Hamilton Grange National Memorial
• Hampton National Historic Site
• Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
• Harry S Truman National Historic Site
• Herbert Hoover National Historic Site
• Home Of Franklin D Roosevelt National Historic Site
• Homestead National Monument of America
• Hopewell Culture National Historical Park
• Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site
• Horseshoe Bend National Military Park
• Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site
• Illinois and Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor
• Independence National Historical Park
• Inupiat Heritage Center
• James A Garfield National Historic Site
• Jean Lafitte National Historic Park and Preserve
• Jefferson National Expansion Memorial (St. Louis Gateway Arch)
• Jimmy Carter National Historic Site
• John F Kennedy National Historic Site
• John Muir National Historic Site
• Johnstown Flood National Memorial
• Juan Bautista De Anza National Historic Trail
• Kalaupapa National Historical Park
• Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park
• Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park
• Keweenaw National Historical Park
• Kings Mountain National Military Park
• Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park
• Klondike Gold Rush - Seattle Unit National Historical Park
• Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site
• Korean War Veterans Memorial
• Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
• Lincoln Memorial
• Lincoln Boyhood National Memorial
• Lincoln Home National Historic Site
• Little River Canyon National Preserve
• Little Rock Central High School National Historic Site
• Longfellow National Historic Site
• Lowell National Historical Park
• Lyndon B Johnson National Historical Park
• Lyndon Baines Johnson Memorial Grove on the Potomac
• Maggie L Walker National Historic Site
• Maine Acadian Culture
• Manassas National Battlefield Park
• Manzanar National Historic Site
• Marsh - Billings - Rockefeller National Historical Park
• Martin Luther King Jr National Historic Site
• Martin Van Buren National Historic Site
• Mary Mcleod Bethune Council House National Historic Site
• Minute Man National Historical Park
• Minuteman Missile National Historic Site
• Monocacy National Battlefield
• Moores Creek National Battlefield
• Mormon Pioneer National Historic Trail
• Morristown National Historical Park
• Mount Rushmore National Memorial
• Natchez National Historical Park
• New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park
• New Jersey Coastal Heritage Trail Route
• New Orleans Jazz National Historical Park
• Nez Perce National Historical Park
• Nicodemus National Historic Site
• Ninety Six National Historic Site
• Oklahoma City National Memorial
• Oregon National Historic Trail
• Overmountain Victory National Historic Trail
• Palo Alto Battlefield National Historic Site
• Pea Ridge National Military Park
• Pecos National Historical Park
• Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site
• Perry's Victory and International Peace Memorial
• Petersburg National Battlefield
• Pony Express National Historic Trail
• Poplar Grove National Cemetery
• Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial
• Pu'uhonua O Honaunau National Historical Park
• Puukohola Heiau National Historic Site
• Richmond National Battlefield Park
• Roger Williams National Memorial
• Sagamore Hill National Historic Site
• Saint Croix Island International Historic Site
• Saint Paul's Church National Historic Site
• Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site
• Salem Maritime National Historic Site
• Salt River Bay National Historic Park and Ecological Preserve
• San Antonio Missions National Historical Park
• San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park
• San Juan National Historic Site
• San Juan Island National Historical Park
• Santa Fe National Historic Trail
• Saratoga National Historical Park
• Saugus Iron Works National Historic Site
• Selma To Montgomery National Historic Trail
• Sewall-Belmont House National Historic Site
• Shiloh National Military Park
• Shiloh National Cemetery
• Sitka National Historical Park
• Springfield Armory National Historic Site
• Steamtown National Historic Site
• Stones River National Cemetery
• Stones River National Battlefield
• Thaddeus Kosciuszko National Memorial
• Theodore Roosevelt Birthplace National Historic Site
• Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural National Historic Site
• Thomas Jefferson Memorial
• Thomas Stone National Historic Site
• Touro Synagogue National Historic Site
• Trail of Tears National Historic Trail
• Tumacácori National Historical Park
• Tupelo National Battlefield
• Tuskegee Airman National Historic Site
• Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site
• U S S Arizona Memorial
• Ulysses S Grant National Historic Site
• Valley Forge National Historical Park
• Vanderbilt Mansion National Historic Site
• Vicksburg National Military Park
• Vicksburg National Cemetery
• Vietnam Veterans Memorial
• War In The Pacific National Historical Park
• Washington Monument
• Washita Battlefield National Historic Site
• Weir Farm National Historic Site
• Whitman Mission National Historic Site
• William Howard Taft National Historic Site
• Wilson's Creek National Battlefield
• Women's Rights National Historical Park
• Wright Brothers National Memorial
• Yorktown National Cemetery
• Yorktown National Battlefield

National Recreation Areas, Lakeshores, Seashores and Trails

• Amistad National Recreation Area
• Apostle Islands National Lakeshore
• Appalachian National Scenic Trail
• Assateague Island National Seashore
• Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area
• Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area
• Bluestone National Scenic River
• Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area
• Buffalo National River
• Canaveral National Seashore
• Cape Cod National Seashore
• Cape Hatteras National Seashore
• Cape Lookout National Seashore
• Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
• Chickasaw National Recreation Area
• Cumberland Island National Seashore
• Curecanti National Recreation Area
• Delaware National Scenic River
• Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
• Fire Island National Seashore
• Gateway National Recreation Area
• Gauley River National Recreation Area
• George Washington Memorial Parkway
• Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
• Golden Gate National Recreation Area
• Gulf Islands National Seashore
• Ice Age National Scenic Trail
• Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
• John D Rockefeller Jr Memorial Parkway
• Lake Chelan National Recreation Area
• Lake Mead National Recreation Area
• Lake Meredith National Recreation Area
• Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area
• Mississippi National River and Recreation Area
• Missouri National Recreational River
• Natchez Trace Parkway
• New River Gorge National River
• Niobrara National Scenic River
• North Country National Scenic Trail
• Ozark National Scenic Riverways
• Padre Island National Seashore
• Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore
• Point Reyes National Seashore
• Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail
• Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor
• Ross Lake National Recreation Area
• Saint Croix National Scenic River
• Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
• Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore
• Suitland Parkway
• Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River
• Whiskeytown National Recreation Area

Other Preserves and Protected Areas

• Alcatraz Island
• Anacostia Park
• Baltimore-Washington Parkway
• Bering Land Bridge National Preserve
• Big Cypress National Preserve
• Big Thicket National Preserve
• Blue Ridge Parkway
• Capitol Hill Parks
• Catoctin Mountain Park
• City Of Rocks National Reserve
• Constitution Gardens
• Fort Dupont Park
• Fort Washington Park
• Glen Echo Park
• Great Falls Park
• Green Springs
• Greenbelt Park
• Harmony Hall
• Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens
• Mojave National Preserve
• National Capital Parks-Central
• National Capital Parks-East
• National Mall
• New Jersey Pinelands National Reserve
• Noatak National Preserve
• Northwest Alaska Areas
• Old Post Office Tower
• Oxon Cove Park and Oxon Hill Farm
• Pierce Mill
• Piscataway Park
• President's Park (White House)
• Presidio of San Francisco
• Prince William Forest Park
• Rock Creek Park
• Roosevelt Campobello International Park
• Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
• The Old Stone House
• Theodore Roosevelt Island Park
• Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve
• Wolf Trap Farm Park for the Performing Arts
• Yukon - Charley Rivers National Preserve

The National Park Service also administers some National Wild and Scenic Rivers. As you can see, the amount of National Parks and monuments along with other places administered by the National Park Service is quite extensive.