The Father of Some of Theodore Roosevelt's greatest
accomplishments were in conservation. In 1905, President
Roosevelt formed the United States Forestry Service and
appointed Gifford Pinchot as the first chief of this new agency.
Under TR's direction, lands were reserved for public use and
huge irrigation projects were started. During Roosevelt's time
as President, the forest reserves in the U.S. went from
approximately 43-million acres to about 194-million acres.
President, he signed legislation that established five national
park units: Crater Lake, Oregon; Wind Cave, South Dakota; Sullys
Hill, North Dakota (later designated a game preserve); Mesa
Verde, Colorado; and Platt, Oklahoma (now part of the Chickasaw
National Recreation Area). By the end of 1906, Roosevelt had
proclaimed four national monuments: Devil's Tower, Wyoming; El
Morro, New Mexico; Montezuma Castle, Arizona; and the Petrified
Forest, Arizona. He also protected a large portion of the Grand
Canyon as a national monument in 1908. During his