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National Geographic : 1966 Jul
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of the Mission 66 program that brought it to completion. Just 50 years ago-on August 25, 1916, to be exact-the Act of Congress that created the National Park Service went into effect. But only 10 years ago a crisis loomed for our parks, which Congress had ordered preserved "in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." Facilities were out of date and run down, roads were in dangerous condition, trails were washed out, employee morale was at a low level, and even scenic beauty was deteriorating. Mission 66 saved all these. Seldom has a single program that so affects the inspirational heritage of an entire Nation, and of generations yet unborn, been carried out in such a short time. Not only was that program successfully completed, but its in fluence on the cultural development of the Nation has spread in ways far beyond even the wildest expectations of those involved in it. As Director of the National Park Service until my retirement in 1964, I had the role of guiding Mission 66.* And so, in this, the year of the program's fulfillment and the golden anniversary of the Park Service, the National Geographic Society has asked me to summa rize Mission 66's accomplishments. Why were the parks, a decade ago, in such bad shape? They were literally being "loved to death." A system equipped to handle 21 million visitors a year was flooded by 55 mil lion. Priority demands of World War II, the Korean War, and the continuing cold war cut Park Service budgets to the barest minimum. *Mr. Wirth described national parks as a "Heritage of Beauty and History" in the May, 1958, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC, and wrote of state and local parks in the November, 1963, issue. For numerous other articles on our parks, consult the NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC index. Campfire smoke hangs like mist in crowd ed Yosemite Valley, where throngs wait to view the evening firefall from Glacier Point. In this time exposure from 3,250 feet above the valley floor, a trail of flashbulbs traces the path of a photographer as he strolls in a loop at right center. Automobile lights streak roads leading from Yosemite Village at upper left, across the curling Merced River, to the parking lot at Camp Curry. Royal Arches etch the beetling canyon wall. To disperse summer crowds, Mission 66 built 1,000 campsites outside the valley. KODACHROMEBY JONATHANS. BLAIR © N.G .S . THIS PAGE FOLDS OUT
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