Niki Tsongas: “Throughout this centennial year of the National Park Service, I have been reminded of something that Stephen Mather…”

“Throughout this centennial year of the National Park Service, I have been reminded of something that Stephen Mather, that agency's very first Director, once said. Reflecting on the new agency, he remarked: ``The parks do not belong to one State or to one section . . . The Yosemite, the Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon are national properties in which every citizen has a vested interest; they belong as much to the man''--and, I would add, woman--``of Massachusetts, of Michigan, of Florida as they do to the people of California, of Wyoming, and of Arizona.'' Those words are a powerful reminder in this era of political division and disagreement: national parks are national. They cut across party lines and geographic boundaries. They enjoy broad support, and they bring people together--something we seem to need now more than ever. For 100 years, generation after generation of Americans have made the commitment that our most significant historical, cultural, and natural sites should be preserved in perpetuity for future generations. Our national parks have been famously called ``America's best idea'' and have become engrained in our national identity--places like the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone, and Ellis Island, and in my own district, Minute Man National Historical Park, which commemorates the shot heard `round the world, and Lowell National Historical Park, which recognizes the people, places, and radical innovation that spawned our Nation's industrial revolution.…”