Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act marks 42 years Dec 2, 2022

Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act marks 42 years

On this day in 1980, the single largest expansion of protected lands in history doubled the size of the US National Park System. As a result, Alaska now has eight national parks, plus numerous monuments and preserves that protect more than 157 million total acres. When President Jimmy Carter signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act, the public was granted the right to appreciate stunning locations like the one in today"s photo: the braided river delta of the 51-mile-long Tlikakila River in Lake Clark National Park.

© Dawn Wilson Photography/Getty Images

palette

Today in History

Dec 2, 2018Winter in Old Nuuk
Dec 2, 2019Wild and beautiful Alaska
Dec 2, 2020Protecting Alaska
Dec 2, 2021Denali National Park
Dec 2, 2023Angkor, Cambodia
Dec 2, 2024Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska
Dec 2, 2025Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act anniversary

More Desktop Wallpapers:

Mar 5, 2018Seattle Central Library, Seattle, Washington
Nov 8, 2019Chapel on the rock
Oct 1, 2025Clark Range, Yosemite National Park, California
Jun 17, 2022Grand Teton National Park
Dec 31, 2022New Year s Eve in Sydney, Australia
Jun 10, 2021A Portuguese fort takes a star turn
Dec 11, 2021Everest s shadow on the Himalayas
Apr 11, 2022Fiddlehead fern fronds
Feb 20, 2019An unlikely friendship in the wild
Feb 14, 2019Cue up the tango music
Sep 17, 2021Eye of the cave
Mar 6, 2022Great cormorants
Jan 6, 2020Have fun storming the castle
Apr 24, 2019Cool water in the Quinault
Jan 1, 2020Napping away New Year s Day
Feb 28, 2025Tibetan New Year
Mar 9, 2019Let the harvest begin
Oct 21, 2025Happy Diwali!
Sep 8, 2024International Literacy Day
Feb 22, 2020It s not always sunny in Abu Simbel…
Aug 23, 2019Harvest time in the Palouse
Jul 10, 2018Wyoming celebrates its statehood
Jul 13, 2023International Rock Day
Mar 25, 2020It s Tolkien Reading Day
Jul 25, 2023Laguna de Torrevieja, Spain
Nov 13, 2024Sea lion in a kelp forest, Baja California, Mexico
Jan 11, 2024Eurasian lynx
Apr 21, 2018Celebrating National Park Week, April 21-29
May 11, 2020A tree amid the Tetons
Jan 24, 2022Manhattan