00:00 Happy anniversary to your National Parks.
00:02 The National Park Service is 107 years old.
00:06 There are 425 National Parks
00:08 with at least one in every state.
00:10 And joining us from Washington, DC is Mike Litters.
00:13 He is the Communications Chief of the National Mall
00:17 and Memorial Parks of the National Park Service.
00:20 Thank you so much for joining us, Mike.
00:23 - My pleasure, thanks for having me.
00:25 - Now, Mike, you're at the fifth most visited National Park.
00:28 What are some of the most popular attractions
00:30 at the National Mall and Memorial Parks?
00:33 - The National Mall is home to more than a dozen
00:38 of those 425 National Parks that you mentioned.
00:42 By far the most popular one of them,
00:44 the one that sees the most people every year,
00:46 is the Lincoln Memorial.
00:47 More than 8 million people a year
00:49 come to see the Lincoln Memorial.
00:51 But among the other sites that we care for,
00:54 we've got, of course, Memorials to Presidents,
00:57 the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Memorial.
01:00 We've got Memorials to other great Americans,
01:03 Martin Luther King Memorial,
01:05 the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial.
01:07 And of course, the National Mall is where we come
01:09 to pay respect to Americans fighting men and women
01:13 and those that have fallen in defense of their country.
01:15 So the World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial,
01:18 the Korean War Veterans Memorial.
01:20 It's really a great place to come,
01:23 learn a little bit about American history
01:25 and experience what it means to be an American.
01:28 - I will say I got to do the cherry blossoms
01:31 for the first time ever earlier this year on the peak day,
01:35 and it was well worth it.
01:37 Earlier this week, Death Valley was flooded by Hillary,
01:40 and last year, Yellowstone was heavily damaged
01:42 by historic flooding.
01:43 How are the National Parks working to combat
01:45 the potential of damage from severe weather?
01:49 - There's cherry blossoms that you mentioned.
01:52 We are seeing the water from the tidal basin
01:55 inundating the roots of those cherry trees,
01:58 sometimes twice a day, every day.
02:00 So here, for example, we're in the process
02:03 of rebuilding the seawalls, build them higher,
02:06 make them sustainable so that we're not just fixing
02:09 what's wrong with them now.
02:11 We're making sure for the next 50, 75, 100 years,
02:15 the resources that the Park Service cares for,
02:17 those cherry trees, are gonna be protected.
02:20 - Now, many people think national parks
02:22 as a major destination, like Grand Canyon,
02:25 or Yosemite, or Zion, but what do people need to know
02:28 about the variety of different types of locations
02:31 that the National Parks system offers?
02:33 - Well, you're absolutely right.
02:35 Those are the crown jewels that most people think of,
02:38 Old Faithful on a trip to Yellowstone,
02:40 or the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.
02:43 But, as we mentioned earlier,
02:46 there are 425 national parks across the country.
02:50 Not only America's scenic beauty, but her history,
02:53 the Gettysburg Battlefield,
02:55 Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
02:57 There are seashores, there are lakeshores,
03:00 there are battlefields, historic sites.
03:03 A little something for everyone,
03:06 if you're looking for a vacation,
03:08 or getting out to see what makes America great.
03:12 - Mike Littrist, Communications Chief
03:15 and the National Mall and Memorial Parks
03:18 of National Park Service,
03:19 Thank you so much for joining us.
03:21 - Thanks Melissa.
03:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]
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