Celebrate the 75th Anniversary of Kings Canyon National Park
On March 4th, 1940, FDR put his signature on a piece of paper that turned the 454,000 acres of Sierra Nevada wilderness just north of Sequoia National Park into an officially protected area. If that signature hadn't gotten on that paper, there's a good chance that, right now, the entire area would be overrun with dams and reservoirs.
As a press release from the NPS writes, "[l]argely forgotten is the 60-year struggle at the turn of the 20th century to create the park." The struggle, as usual, was over water. "Powerful hydroelectric interests from Los Angeles were battling irrigation and agriculture interests from the "¨San Joaquin Valley for water storage and diversion licenses in the Kings River watershed," they write. (Just like in the movie Chinatown or, I suppose, the more insidious true story it was based on) In the end, however, with a nudge by FDR and Secretary of the Interior Harold Ickes, the country decided to focus on preservation -- and the tourism dollars coming from that -- rather than turn it into one huge drinking fountain.
The park, four hour north of L.A., offers several groves of giant sequoias, spacious and clean campgrounds, old historic lodges, and over 825 miles of hiking trails. All year long, the NPS rangers will be leading special programs celebrating the 75th anniversary. Keep an eye on their website regarding specifics and schedules. And before you head out, make sure to check the park alerts regarding which roads are open, and which require the use of tire chains.
