Only nine of the following ten statements are true. Can you tell which one is false? Try the extra credit questions too.
1. True or false? The smallest national monument created by presidential proclamation had an area of less than 0.01 acre.
2. True or false? America's first tree farm was established on land now in the National Park System.
3. True or false? Glacier National Park's Hazardous Tree Management Plan, which spells out rules and guidelines for cutting down trees in the park, is more than 100 pages in length.
4. True or false? The first national park ranger murdered in the line of duty was killed at Hot Springs National Park.
5. True or false? English colonist John Rolfe introduced the commercial production of tobacco in America at a site now preserved in Virginia's Colonial National Historical Park.
6. True or false? The U.S. flag displayed at the USS Arizona Memorial, a component of the World War II Valor in the Pacific National Monument, is always flown at half-staff.
7. True or false? The Grant Village complex in Yellowstone National Park was constructed in vital grizzly bear habitat.
8. True or false? Washington's North Cascades National Park, which encompasses over 1,000 square miles, has fewer than 40 miles of paved roads.
9. True or false? President Dwight Eisenhower signed some legislation into law during stays at his Gettysburg farm, which is now preserved as Eisenhower National Historic Site.
10. True or false? The Merced River in Yosemite National Park has been designated a National Wild and Scenic River.
Extra Credit Question:
11. True or false? The North American Game Warden Museum is located in an Affiliated Area eligible to receive technical and financial assistance from the National Park Service.
Super Bonus Question
12. True or false? In the lingo of Appalachian Trail hikers, "purist” means the same thing as "blue-blazer.”
(1) True. Father Millet Cross National Monument near Youngstown, New York, was a mere 0.0074 acres in size (320 square feet) when it was proclaimed by President Calvin Coolidge on September 5, 1925. Abolished by Congress in 1949, it remains the smallest national park ever created.
(2) True. In 1828, President John Quincy Adams designated the first United States tree farm on a tract of land now in the Naval Live Oaks Area of Gulf Islands National Seashore. Live oaks have dense, disease-resistant wood that was vitally needed for the construction of early naval vessels.
(3) True. Glacier National Park's Hazardous Tree Management Plan ran to 105 pages when it was published. You can read about it at this site.
(4) True. Hot Springs ranger James Cary became the first Park Service ranger killed in the line of duty when he was shot by bootleggers in 1927.
(5) True. Although Indians had been using and trading tobacco in America for more than a thousand years before European contact, English colonist John Rolfe (not Walter Raleigh, as many people think) was the first European in America to begin cultivating tobacco for sale. Using seed illegally imported from the Caribbean, Rolfe began growing tobacco at Jamestown in 1611. The colonists were exporting tobacco to England by 1613.
(6) False. A flagpole was erected on the USS Arizona in 1950 when the sunken ship was symbolically "re-commissioned." Ever since, the Arizona's flag has been flown at half-staff only when other ships of the fleet fly their flags at half-staff.
(7) True. There are five streams in the Grant Village vicinity that cutthroat trout use for spawning during late May and early June. Both grizzlies and black bears frequent this area to feed on the spawning trout, which are an important food source.
(8) True. There are only about 34 miles of paved roads in North Cascades National Park.
(9) True. President Eisenhower purchased the farm in 1950 and retired there in 1961. During his 1953-1961 presidency, he spent all or part of 380 days at the farm, mostly using it for weekend retreats. Legislation passed by Congress was sometimes brought there for him to sign.
(10) True. The Merced River, which rises in Yosemite National Park and flows through Yosemite Valley, was added to the National Wild and Scenic River System in 1987. Of the Merced's total length of 122.5 miles (including 81 miles in the park), 71 miles have been designated wild, 16 miles scenic, and 35.5 recreational.
(11) True. The North American Game Warden Museum is located in the International Peace Garden, an Affiliated Area that straddles the U.S. - Canada border in the state of North Dakota and the province of Manitoba.
(12) False. The Appalachian Trail is marked with white blazes from beginning to end. A blue blaze on the AT indicates a spur trail that takes a hiker off the AT to shelters, water sources, scenic views, bad-weather routes, etc. A “purist” is a hiker who wants to pass every white blaze (and wants other hikers to do the same). A “blue-blazer” is a hiker who substitutes blue-blazed trails for sections of the white-blazed AT.