Aug. 25 marks 107 years since the National Park Service was founded. Did you know that, of the 425 national parks that now exist across every state and biome in the country, more than a dozen are in the nation's capital?
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Happy anniversary to your National Parks.
00:02 The National Park Service is 107 years old.
00:06 There are 425 National Parks
00:08 with at least one in every state.
00:10 And joining us from Washington, DC is Mike Litters.
00:13 He is the Communications Chief of the National Mall
00:17 and Memorial Parks of the National Park Service.
00:20 Thank you so much for joining us, Mike.
00:23 - My pleasure, thanks for having me.
00:25 - Now, Mike, you're at the fifth most visited National Park.
00:28 What are some of the most popular attractions
00:30 at the National Mall and Memorial Parks?
00:33 - The National Mall is home to more than a dozen
00:38 of those 425 National Parks that you mentioned.
00:42 By far the most popular one of them,
00:44 the one that sees the most people every year,
00:46 is the Lincoln Memorial.
00:47 More than 8 million people a year
00:49 come to see the Lincoln Memorial.
00:51 But among the other sites that we care for,
00:54 we've got, of course, Memorials to Presidents,
00:57 the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial.
01:00 We've got Memorials to other great Americans,
01:03 Martin Luther King Memorial,
01:05 the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
01:07 And of course, the National Mall is where we come
01:09 to pay respect to Americans fighting men and women
01:13 and those that have fallen in defense of their country.
01:15 So the World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
01:18 the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
01:20 It's really a great place to come,
01:23 learn a little bit about American history
01:25 and experience what it means to be an American.
01:28 - I will say I got to do the cherry blossoms
01:31 for the first time ever earlier this year on the peak day,
01:35 and it was well worth it.
01:37 Earlier this week, Death Valley was flooded by Hillary,
01:40 and last year, Yellowstone was heavily damaged
01:42 by historic flooding.
01:43 How are the National Parks working to combat
01:45 the potential of damage from severe weather?
01:49 - There's cherry blossoms that you mentioned.
01:52 We are seeing the water from the tidal basin
01:55 inundating the roots of those cherry trees,
01:58 sometimes twice a day, every day.
02:00 So here, for example, we're in the process
02:03 of rebuilding the seawalls, build them higher,
02:06 make them sustainable so that we're not just fixing
02:09 what's wrong with them now.
02:11 We're making sure for the next 50, 75, 100 years,
02:15 the resources that the Park Service cares for,
02:17 those cherry trees, are gonna be protected.
02:20 - Now, many people think national parks
02:22 as a major destination, like Grand Canyon,
02:25 or Yosemite, or Zion, but what do people need to know
02:28 about the variety of different types of locations
02:31 that the National Parks system offers?
02:33 - Well, you're absolutely right.
02:35 Those are the crown jewels that most people think of,
02:38 Old Faithful on a trip to Yellowstone,
02:40 or the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
02:43 But, as we mentioned earlier,
02:46 there are 425 national parks across the country.
02:50 Not only America's scenic beauty, but her history,
02:53 the Gettysburg Battlefield,
02:55 Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
02:57 There are seashores, there are lakeshores,
03:00 there are battlefields, historic sites.
03:03 A little something for everyone,
03:06 if you're looking for a vacation,
03:08 or getting out to see what makes America great.
03:12 - Mike Littrist, Communications Chief
03:15 and the National Mall and Memorial Parks
03:18 of National Park Service,
03:19 Thank you so much for joining us.
03:21 - Thanks Melissa.
03:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]