By the stroke of a pen on December 1, 1978, President Jimmy Carter designated 56 million acres of Alaska as national monuments, creating 14 new monuments and enlarging three existing ones. The act more than doubled the size of the national park system, and set aside some little known, but highly significant, lands for enjoyment by present and future generations.
The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) of 1980 designated ten new National Park units and enlarged three of the existing units in Alaska. In Alaska there are eight National Parks, two National Monuments, ten National Preserves, two National Historical Parks & two National Forests. Some of the land affected by the law-for example, a 550,000-acre addition to Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve-simply expanded the acreage of a highly visual and popular visitor area, which can be seen from the deck of a cruise ship or tour boat. But in many more cases, the law designated vast areas that are little more than names on a map: Cape Krusenstern National Monument, Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument. Today, these areas are accessible primarily to those who are willing to take to a charter plane, a canoe, or an unmarked trail to do their exploring.
