In the U.S. there are 58 nationally protected lands considered to be National Parks. This means that anyone is allowed to enter and relish in their beauty. The first National Park, Yellowstone, came into existence under Ulysses S. Grant in 1872.
On this day June 8th, in 1906, The Antiquities Act, which was intended to conserve certain smaller parcels of land of scientific or cultural importance, is signed by President Theodore Roosevelt. The act has since been used well over 100 times and has come into controversy.
The act was intended for smaller places, but has been used in places like the Grand Canyon, which is over 1 million acres. It was also meant to protect objects from Native American lands which people called Pot Hunters were taking for themselves or to sell. An antiquity is any object from an ancient civilization. After it came to President Roosevelt’s attention that many historic areas were being purged for their valuables, he was compelled to sign this act.