Scenic, recreational, and historical areas administered by the National Park Service under the Department of the Interior totaled 21,534,377.46 acres (33,647.49 sq. miles) on April 15, 1940, an increase of 717,149.32 acres (1,120.59 sq. miles) during the previous twelve months period.
Newton B. Drury was appointed Director of the National Park Service by Secretary of the Interior Harold L. Ickes upon the resignation of Arno B. Cammerer who had served as Director for many years. Mr. Drury, a Californian, comes of a pioneer western family, and like two former Directors of the National Park Service, Stephen Mather and Horace M. Albright, is a graduate of the University of California. He particularly distinguished himself in his work for the California State Park System. Beginning in 1929, he held the position of Investigating Officer of the California Park Commission and personally investigated and superintended the investment of approximately $12,000,000 in state park lands. He also served as secretary of the Save-the-Redwoods League throughout most of the long and eventually successful campaign which that organization waged to save the groves of giant Redwood trees from being cut down for timber.
Two national Parks, Kings Canyon and Isle Royale, were established during the year; one, the General Grant National Park, was abolished.
Kings Canyon National Park, established by Act of March 4, 1940, is an area of 444,600 acres in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range of California. It lies just north of Sequoia National Park and to the south of Yosemite National Park. The Act creating this park also abolished the General Grant National Park and decreed that its lands should be included in the new park as the General Grant Grove Section. This park also includes the Redwood Mountain area of approximately 10,000 acres which is famous for its groves of Big Trees, Sequoia gigantea.
The park, according to present plans, will have very few automobile roads and will be kept as a primitive area. From the San Joaquin Valley to the west, the park can be reached by way of Fresno, through the General Grant section via the new extension of the General's Highway which carries up to the floor of the Kings River Canyon. From the Owens Valley on the eastern side, it is reached only by pack animal trails through Kearsarge, Taboose, and Bishop passes.
The park is a mountain climbers' paradise. Within its area are two hundred mountain peaks over 12,000 feet high and four peaks which reach an elevation of more than 14,000 feet. Approximately 400 alpine lakes and tarns lie at elevations varying from 9,500 to greater than 12,000 feet. Lake Rae (10,560 feet) has long been recognized as one of the most beautiful alpine lakes in the Western Hemisphere. The Kings River Canyon, from which the park derives its name, is nine miles long, ranges in depth from 2,000 to 2,500 feet, and averages but three-eighths of a mile in width at the base of the cliffs. Of the many tremendous canyons in the park, the most beautiful is that of the South Fork of the Kings River which lies at a high altitude and at right angles to the main canyon and to the crest of the Sierra Nevada. In winter the park region is buried beneath snow and ice; in summer it abounds in alpine flora — lupine, columbine, polemonium. The famous John Muir Trail, extending from Yosemite to Mount Whitney, passes through the entire length of the Kings Canyon park. Preservation of this region as a national park was originally proposed by John Muir, in 1891. Efforts to have it set aside as a park have been carried on through the years by members of the mountain climbing Sierra Club of California.
Isle Royale National Park, in northwestern Michigan, comprises the entire area, 133,405 acres, of the largest island in Lake Superior. The park was established April 3, 1940 when the last of the lands prescribed by an Act of March 3, 1931 were acquired. The island is forty-four miles long. Parallel ridges of hills which cross it were formerly mined for copper. The island has interesting archeological remains, excellent pine forests, and its shoreline is particularly beautiful. A bird refuge and game preserve are included in the park and on this island moose are found in large numbers.
The following National Monuments were established:
Appomattox Court House National Historical Monument, Virginia, established April 10, 1940, comprises 970 acres. It marks the scene of the battle of Appomattox Court House which on April 9, 1865, brought the Civil War to a close with the surrender of the Confederate Army under General Robert E. Lee to the Federal Army under General Ulysses S. Grant.
Whitman National Monument, Washington, was established on January 20, 1940. It consists of 45.93 acres on the site of the Waiilatpu Mission which was founded in 1836 by Dr. Marcus Whitman and his wife, Narcissus Prentiss Whitman, a famous pioneer couple among the early Americans who settled in disputed Oregon County.
Official designation of three areas was changed by Congress: The Chalmette Monument and Grounds, Louisiana, was changed to the Chalmette National Historical Park by Act of August 10, 1939; the Abraham Lincoln National Park, Kentucky, was changed to the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park; and the Ft. McHenry National Park, Maryland, was changed to Ft. McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine, the two latter changes by Act of August 11, 1939.
By Presidential Proclamations the total acreage in existing areas has been changed as follows: On October 28, 1939, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, Colorado was enlarged from 11,197.76 to 13,968.55 acres. On January 2, 1940, the Olympic National Park, Washington, was enlarged from 648,000 to 835,411 acres. The area of the Grand Canyon National Monument, Arizona, was reduced on April 6, 1940 from 273,145 to 201,291 acres.
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