Hawai`i National Park established

Hawaii's Congressional delegate, Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanaiana'ole, introduced the Hawai`i National Park bill, establishing both Kilauea and Haleakala areas as park lands. Thomas Jaggar, director of the Hawai'i Volcano Observatory, traveled to testify in support of the bill. President Wilson signed the bill into law, creating the country's 12th national park. Other legislation created the National Park Service to oversee all federal parklands. Funding for the new park didn't arrive for another six years (one Oregon congressman complained, "It should not cost anything to run a volcano"), but the park's federal support and popularity continues today. Encompassing two of the world's most active volcanoes - Kilauea and Mauna Loa - the park covers a diverse range of ecological and climatic zones.

Sites for further information

1916 Historical Document: An Act To establish a national park in the Territory of Hawai`i (American Memory, Library of Congress) memory.loc.gov Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park History by Dwight Hamilton (National Park Service) http://www.nps.gov/havo/history/people.htm Report a broken link.