There are now 59 American National Parks. We welcome and congratulate Pinnacles National Park to the quest! On January 10, 2013 President Barack Obama signed legislation upgrading Pinnacles to full national park status. We do not know what to do about our company, website or travel plans yet. However, your opinions and advice are more than welcome.
The Associated Press writes…
Pinnacles National Monument, a 40-square-mile site that includes caves and towering volcanic rock formations popular with climbers, became the country’s 59th national park on Thursday.
President Obama signed the bill in Washington, creating the park.
The Central California area holds cultural significance for several Indian tribes and is also home to the endangered California condor.
A condor re-establishment program has been in place at Pinnacles since 2003. Every fall, captive-bred condors are released into the wild.
In 2010, for the first time in more than a century, a condor chick successfully hatched there. The park now manages a population of 32 free-flying condors. Other wildlife includes bobcats, cougars, coyotes and wild turkey.
The site was declared a national monument by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1908.
The bill to make it a national park was introduced by California Democrats Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein in the Senate and by Democratic Rep. Sam Farr and Republican Rep. Jeff Denham in the House.
The park designation will help increase the number of visitors and boost tourism, Boxer said.
The legislation also renames the Pinnacles Wilderness as the Hain Wilderness after Schuyler Hain, an early conservationist whose efforts led to the establishment of the monument.
