Editing North Cascades National Park (section)

=== Establishing the National Park ===
[[File:NPS DirectorandStaff.jpg|thumb|Stephen Mather (seated at center) was the first Director of the National Park Service, and is the namesake for the vast wilderness area that now encompasses almost all of the park.|alt=A black-and-white photo of five men wearing business attire. Two are standing and three are seated.]]
The establishment of [[Yellowstone National Park]] in 1872, and [[Yosemite National Park]] in 1890, led [[Historic preservation|preservationists]] to argue for similar protections for other areas. Even before the North Cascade region was designated as a Forest Reserve in 1897, activists argued the region should be afforded the greater protection accorded from a National Park designation.<ref name=louter2>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=A Wilderness Park|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/part1.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>  Washingtonians submitted a petition in 1892 to establish a national park to the north of [[Lake Chelan]], as many who had visited the region believed it to have scenery "greater than Switzerland's".<ref name=louter3>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=Contested Terrain: The Establishment of North Cascades National Park|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/chap1.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> Further efforts took place in 1906, and again between 1916 and 1921, when artist Julian Itter and the Mazamas Alpine Club lobbied for a bill to designate "Mount Baker National Park".<ref name="Times-1967">{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Walt |date=March 21, 1967 |title=North Cascade Park Bill Was Long In Coming |page=2 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The proposals failed to gain approval from the [[United States Congress|US Congress]] and were shelved for decades.<ref name=louter3/><ref>{{cite news |last=Halliday |first=William R. |date=March 16, 1969 |title=The Forgotten Father Of North Cascades National Park |pages=14–15 |work=The Seattle Times Magazine}}</ref>

Not all locals supported the idea of a national park, as they felt that such a designation would damage the economics of the region. The Forest Service was also not in favor of park designation, as they would have to relinquish control over the land to the Park Service, which was not uncommon, since many parks being established were originally managed by the Forest Service. In an effort to appease their detractors, the Forest Service designated [[Primitive Area]]s which would provide increased protection to some of the most pristine regions they managed.<ref name=louter3/>

By the mid-1930s, forester [[Bob Marshall (wilderness activist)|Bob Marshall]] argued that the region should be set aside as wilderness. Rival interests continued to argue over whether the lands should remain under the management of the Forest Service or the National Park Service, but by the 1960s the environmentalist argument advocating for a national park prevailed.<ref name=louter3/> President [[John F. Kennedy]] directed the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to fund a joint study into a possible national park in the North Cascades region, which was completed in January 1966 and submitted to Congress.<ref name="Times-1967"/> The size of the national park was subject to debate locally and in Congress, as well as its effect on the local logging industry.<ref>{{cite news |last=Woodward |first=Walt |date=February 11, 1966 |title=Pros and Cons on U.S. Parks Heard |page=45 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=April 21, 1968 |title=North Cascades Compromise Hinted |page=45 |work=The Seattle Times}}</ref> The North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a [[List of national parks of the United States|national park]] on October 2, 1968, and the National Park Service commenced direct management on January 1, 1969.<ref name=louter4>{{cite web|last=Louter|first=David|title=Administration|work=Contested Terrain: North Cascades National Park Service Complex, Washington An Administrative History|publisher=National Park Service|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/noca/adhi/chap2.htm|date=April 14, 1999|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref> The North Cascades National Park Act also designated Ross Lake and [[Lake Chelan National Recreation Area]]s. [[Redwood National and State Parks|Redwood National Park]] in California was also signed into existence on the same day as the North Cascades.<ref name=louter3/> By 1988, much of Bob Marshall's original plan to set aside the future park as wilderness was achieved when almost all of North Cascades National Park was designated as the [[Stephen Mather Wilderness]].<ref name=wilderness>{{cite web|title=Washington Park Wilderness Act of 1988|url=http://www.nps.gov/noca/parkmgmt/washington-park-wilderness.htm|publisher=National Park Service|access-date=March 29, 2018}}</ref>