From the Grand Canyon to Yosemite, from Voyageurs to the Great Smokey Mountains, the United States National Parks are jewels scattered across America. August 25, 1916, when President Woodrow Wilson signed the Organic Act creating the National Park Service (NPS). Established under the umbrella of the Department of the Interior, the NPS was responsible for protecting the 40 national parks and monuments. Today it today comprises 376 areas covering more than 83 million acres in 49 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, Saipan, and the Virgin Islands. Vote for your liberal, progressive candidate in the next election; and we're not talking about Michele Bachmann!