The National Park Service Joins the Internet in 1995

In 1995, the National Park Service (NPS) officially launched its website, nps.gov. Unearthed from the archives, a May 10, 1995 press release is a time capsule of digital and National Park Service history.

Full of hope and promise for the 'internet-world-wide-web,' the NPS laid out many goals in the press release that still drive decision making today - namely to allow the world to access to information about visiting parks, our nation's natural and cultural heritage, and the NPS mission, history and organization.

At the time of the press release (1995) the NPS administered "368 national parks covering more than 83 million acres in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories" and hoped to connect to "more than 20 million users in more than 50 countries daily."

As of the writing of this article (2022), nps.gov welcomes more than 117 million individual users annually and contains more than 1,000 individual websites (for parks, program offices, and topics), and over 100,000 web pages. The NPS App, officially joined the NPS digital family on April 16, 2021, giving visitors even more ways to connect to the NPS and the 423 units currently managed by the NPS. Over 1,000 web content authors across the NPS contribute content to nps.gov and the NPS App.

The NPS digital future continues to look bright, providing an ever-growing number of visitors with more opportunities to explore the "universal database of knowledge" with just "the touch of a mouse button".

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A 1995 press release announces the launch of nps.gov on the "internet-world-wide-web."

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Press Release Text

NEWS RELEASE
U.S. department of the interior
For Release: May 10, 1995
Contact: Joan Anzelmo 202/xxx-xxxx
Steve Pittleman 202/xxx-xxxx

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE JOINS INFORMATION SUPERHIGHWAY

National Park service (NPS) Director Roger Kennedy announced today the National Park Service will be accessible on-line, via the Internet-World Wide Web (WWW), http://www.nps.gov, on May 22, the first day of National Park Week.

"The World Wide Web is a major research tool with endless educational applications and possibilities," said Kennedy. "The National Park Service embraces the opportunity to participate in this type of universal database of knowledge."

The WWW is a multimedia --audio, graphic and text-- information retrieval system, which uses the global network of computers that make up the Internet. The WWW utilizes software interfaces known as browsers, such as MOSAIC or NETSCAPE, to incorporate multimedia information with the touch of a mouse button.

The Web provides access to National Park Service information, including NPS' mission, its history, issues surrounding natural and cultural resources, and specific park sites.

The NPS WWW site will allow people from around the world to learn about a wide range of NPS topics from the National Trails System to the more than 60,000 properties listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

NPS' long-term goal for its Web site is to develop "home pages" for each national park area. "Horne pages" will be designed to provide a brief introduction that will include general visitor information. Additionally, they will also allow users to research specific topics pertinent to the site and to the NPS.

Currently, the NPS administers 368 national parks covering more than 83 million acres in 49 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories, receiving more than 270 million visitors annually.

The system is available to individuals who have a computer, access to Internet and WWW browser software. Internet, the means to access the WWW, connects more than 20 million users in more than 50 countries daily.

- NPS -

An early screenshot of the ParkNet home page (04/18/1997).

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The Early Days of 'ParkNet'

The early days of 'ParkNet' or what we now know of as nps.gov, featured not only the 'Visit Your Parks' button, but also other ways for people to explore the National Park Service. This included:

• A feature story on the history of the NPS
• Links to the Past - America's Histories & Cultures
• Park Smart - Education & Interpretation
• Info Zone - Servicewide Information
• Nature Net - Natural Resources in Parks

Tech savvy visitors may have dialed into the internet using Prodigy and perhaps opened the newly founded Netscape or other browsers of the time to link to a 'Park Store' or to Search.

We can also wonder what users would have used to email the NPS at that time?