In the Antiquities Act of 1906, Congress authorized the President to proclaim features of historic and scientific interest on public lands as national monuments. On August 25, 1916, President Woodrow Wilson signed the act creating the National Park Service. Later President Theodore Roosevelt named national monuments such as the cliff dwellings in Montezuma Castle, Arizona and large natural areas like Death Valley, California. Some areas initially protected as national monuments, like Petrified Forest, the Grand Canyon, and Death Valley, were later made national parks by Congress. By 1916…
