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Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park

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62-785: Boston Harbor Islands National and State Park is a combination national recreation area and state park situated among the islands of Boston Harbor . The park is made up of 34 islands and peninsulas and is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership. Twenty-one of the islands are also included in the Boston Harbor Islands Archeological District . The park is significant for a wide range of natural and cultural resources, including three national historic landmarks , unique geological features, archaeological resources resulting from thousands of years of occupation of

124-422: A consistency and coordination across the whole park. Boston Harbor City Cruises offers ferry service from Long Wharf to Georges and Spectacle Islands. Ferry service from Hingham to Peddocks Island is also available. Deer Island, Nut Island, Worlds End, and Webb Memorial are accessible by road from the mainland. Moon Island and Long Island are closed to the public. Bostonian Dennis Lehane drew inspiration from

186-776: A major port city, has made them strategic locations for coastal defense facilities, and many of the islands saw activity during the Revolutionary War, Civil War, and the two world wars. Many of the harbor's structures that are associated with military history still stand today, including Fort Warren.   Since the 17th century the islands have been locations for many institutions, including quarantine hospitals, almshouses, reform schools, military prisons, and internment facilities. Businesses and recreation facilities, from resorts to waste processing plants, were also operated on several islands. Several navigation aids of historic significance, including Boston Light, are also located in

248-424: A minimum size, ability to attract a significant number of visitors from nearby and beyond its state, and filling a regional need with recreation as the dominant purpose. The policy also called for national recreation areas to be established by acts of Congress and for them to be able to be managed by multiple agencies as necessary, including as partnerships with states. The Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (rather than

310-629: A policy that recognized the need for and established criteria for establishing NRAs. The council recommended that NRAs should focus on growing "recreation demand" more than preservation, conservation, or development; have significant natural and recreational quality greater than that of state lands, even if not as unique as other parts of the National Park System; and provide opportunity for recreation consistent with other federal public lands programs. It outlined seven mandatory criteria and six secondary criteria for establishing NRAs, including

372-502: A wider range of activities. Through the 1950s, many traditionalists at the NPS saw recreation areas championed by Wirth as distractions with open questions of how to manage and square them with the broader aims of the agency. As increased visitation forced answers to these, Lake Mead served as a model for administration at other recreational units, experiencing changing demands of the public, with more day-use visitors. Wirth advocated for changing

434-1028: Is Alejandro Mayorkas , since February 2, 2021. He is the first Latino and immigrant to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Prior to the establishment of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, there existed an assistant to the president for the Office of Homeland Security, which was created following the September 11 attacks in 2001. Parties     Republican (5)     Democratic (3)     Independent (4) Status    Denotes Acting Homeland Security Secretary a. James Loy served as acting secretary in his capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security . b. Rand Beers served as acting secretary in his capacity as confirmed Undersecretary of Homeland Security for National Protection and Programs and Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; Beers

496-758: Is National Park Service. The NPS sites are stand-alone units of the National Park System , while the USFS sites are all part of national forests except Land Between the Lakes . Several of the larger USFS NRAs are managed equivalent to a ranger district , but most are designated areas within one. The Green Mountain National Forest is the only one with two NRAs. The Forest Service manages its NRAs as "showcases" of its management standards so that their programs, services, and facilities should be better than and models for its other recreation sites. The USBR operates dams in

558-550: Is as follows. However, the legality of this update was challenged . Formerly, an April 10, 2019 update to the DHS Orders of Succession, made pursuant to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 , provided a different order in the case of unavailability to act during a disaster or catastrophic emergency: As a result of Executive Order 13753 in 2016, the order of succession for the secretary of homeland security

620-481: Is made up of islands and peninsulas on and around Boston Harbor. These include: Though they are located in Boston Harbor, neither Castle Island nor Spinnaker Island belong to Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area. Other former islands ( Apple Island , Governors Island and Noddle's Island ) were obliterated by the formation of East Boston and the expansion of Logan International Airport before

682-726: Is the head of the United States Department of Homeland Security , the federal department tasked with ensuring public safety in the United States . The secretary is a member of the Cabinet of the United States . The position was created by the Homeland Security Act following the attacks of September 11, 2001 . The new department consisted primarily of components transferred from other Cabinet departments because of their role in homeland security, such as

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744-978: The Coast Guard , the Federal Protective Service , U.S. Customs and Border Protection (which includes the United States Border Patrol ), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (which includes Homeland Security Investigations), the United States Secret Service and the Federal Emergency Management Agency . It does not, however, include the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the U.S. Marshals Service . They continue to operate under U.S. Department of Justice . The current secretary of homeland security

806-864: The Hetch Hetchy Reservoir that flooded a scenic valley in Yosemite National Park , the National Park Service sought to balance its conservation and recreation efforts with dams, and it could provide the expertise for such visitor infrastructure at the Boulder Canyon Project. A proposed 8,000 sq mi (21,000 km ) Virgin National Park in that region promoted by Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur

868-450: The Homeland Security Act of 2002 creates exceptions to FVRA, mandating that the under secretary of homeland security for management is third in the line of succession for Secretary of Homeland Security, and establishes an alternate process by which the secretary can directly establish a line of succession outside the provisions of the FVRA. As of November 8, 2019, the order of succession

930-789: The National Park Service Organic Act . A bill to establish it was introduced in Congress in 1933 with mixed support and failed to advance, while Albright reluctantly agreed to support the USBR with visitor services. As part of the New Deal , President Franklin D. Roosevelt strongly promoted tourism to a growing NPS, with increased emphasis on recreation at facilities constructed by the job-creating Civilian Conservation Corps . The Park Service, now under Director Arno B. Cammerer , took advantage of federal funds to claim

992-560: The United States Forest Service and other agencies, being more efficient for management. USFS took over Shasta Lake Recreation Area in Shasta National Forest in 1948 as its first. The Forest Service had traditionally focused on forestry for timber and custodial management, and the 1950s saw debate among the agencies, extraction interests, and conservationists as demand for recreation increased

1054-612: The 1940s, under the leadership of associate director Conrad L. Wirth , the NPS prepared a National Recreation Plan and conducted a number of studies with the USBR and the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) assessing the natural impact, recreational opportunities, and significance of proposed reservoirs. In 1947 the Boulder Dam Recreation Area was renamed Lake Mead National Recreation Area and expanded to include Lake Mohave above

1116-495: The Boulder Dam Recreation Area, and the NPS quickly built significant infrastructure for sightseeing visitors and contracted with concessionaires. This was a major compromise and precedent that expanded the Park Service's mission beyond the strict conservation of national parks and monuments to include broader outdoor recreation that coexists with other land uses. The Park, Parkway, and Recreation Area Study Act of 1936 had

1178-555: The Lake Mead's designation to "national recreation park," which would emphasize its importance with autonomy from the USBR. His Mission 66 vision provided capital investment for construction of visitor services and infrastructure across the park system. In 1963, the Recreation Advisory Council, created by executive order of President John F. Kennedy and composed of five major government officials, issued

1240-1223: The Massachusett Tribe at Ponkapoag, the Mashpee Wampanoag Tribe, the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), the Nipmuc Nation, and the Narragansett Indian Tribe. People began using various sites among the islands on a seasonal basis starting in the Middle Archaic period and intensified this occupation throughout the Late Archaic and Woodland periods. The islands’ rich variety of resources, including shellfish, migratory birds, nut-bearing trees, fish, seals, and mammals like deer and raccoon, made them ideal places for temporary settlements. Prehistoric people also practiced controlled burning, woodcutting, and plant collecting, using traditional subsistence methods that made minimal impacts on natural resources. Beyond subsistence,

1302-417: The NPS analyze the needs for outdoor recreation and collaborate with state and local governments, officially expanding its mission beyond national parks. With skepticism remaining among agency veterans, planning at the area still emphasized scenery and preservation. The Act's mandates and provision for interagency cooperation however resulted in more versatile land acquisition as the NPS defined its mission. In

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1364-443: The NPS's 18 sites, 12 are based around large reservoirs emphasizing water recreation, 5 are near urban areas and include both historic preservation and outdoor recreation, and the last is at a river where a reservoir was planned but not built. Of the USFS's 22 sites, 5 are at or near reservoirs, and the rest are other exemplary recreation sites within national forests. The 40 NRAs are located in 26 states; California and Washington have

1426-570: The NPS) was charged with studying proposals and referring them to the council for recommendation. This process gave flexibility to the NPS and USFS to develop their own guidelines for unmet future recreational needs. In response Congress made Lake Mead National Recreation Area the first such area to be established by statute in October 1964, finally resolving the complicated co-management of USBR land as sole NPS jurisdiction. It eventually codified most of

1488-508: The NRAs but are classified by the NPS with the national rivers and are not listed here. The USFS has four additional designated "recreation areas" that have similar management practices but are not listed here. The USFS and BLM do not collect visitor data for most sites, marked with an asterisk. 551,000 (USFS) Download coordinates as: United States Secretary of Homeland Security The United States secretary of homeland security

1550-582: The NYPD's programs, stating "the average number of stops we conduct is less than one per officer per week" and that this and other practices have led to "7,383 lives saved—and... they are largely the lives of young men of color." Kelly was also featured because of his NYPD retirement and unusually long tenure there in a long segment on the CBS News program Sunday Morning in December 2013, especially raising

1612-624: The USBR's new Davis Dam . This interagency partnership was successful in creating many recreation areas at reservoirs: nine more were created by agreement with USBR and two more with other dam agencies in the next two decades under the leadership of Wirth as director. However, it contributed to the controversial proposals of Echo Park Dam and Bridge Canyon Dam in existing NPS areas that were canceled after considerable opposition from environmentalists. These new sites were mainly designated as just "recreation areas" since they did not necessarily have national significance. Several would be transferred to

1674-658: The United States established by an Act of Congress to preserve enhanced recreational opportunities in places with significant natural and scenic resources. There are 40 NRAs, which emphasize a variety of activities for visitors, including hiking, camping, boating, fishing, swimming, biking, horseback riding, and wildlife viewing, in areas that include multiple-use management for both conservation and limited utilization of natural resources. They have diverse features and contexts, being established around reservoirs, in urban areas, and within forests. Due to their size, diversity of activities, and proximity to population centers, NRAs are among

1736-648: The West Indies. Women and children made up the majority of people interned on Deer Island. Today, descendants of the Tribal Nations involved in King Philip's War meet yearly on Deer Island to commemorate their ancestors’ suffering. With the arrival of European colonists came heavy use of the islands. They became hubs for resource extraction, coastal defense, industry, and maritime navigation, amid other activities.   The islands’ proximity to Boston,

1798-564: The West, with eleven NRAs built around them, while the USACE primarily operates dams in the East, with reservoirs or areas near four part of NRAs; three more are based around reservoirs operated by other agencies. As the primary focus of land management is recreation (rather than conservation), limited land use such as grazing, logging, and mineral leasing is permitted only if it does not interfere with

1860-491: The creation of Cuyahoga Valley NRA south of Cleveland and Santa Monica Mountains NRA west of Los Angeles. The former was redesignated a national park in 2000. Chattahoochee River NRA north of Atlanta was created in 1978 and Boston Harbor Islands NRA in 1996. The Santa Monica Mountains and Boston Harbor Islands are partnerships with state parks and local agencies. Mount Hood is the newest NRA, designated in 2009. The Land and Water Conservation Fund provided funding for

1922-420: The creation of Grand Canyon National Monument (II) for the pristine upstream eastern section; it would later be incorporated into the park. Cramton proposed that the western section, which had less spectacular scenery, the dam and reservoir, livestock grazing, and mining, but nationally important recreational importance, be designated as the "Boulder Canyon National Reservation", consistent with terminology used in

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1984-551: The creation of the national recreation area. The islands have been places of significance to indigenous Native Americans for many thousands of years. Extensive archaeological evidence of indigenous activity in the area motivated the designation of 21 islands in an archaeological district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Indigenous tribes connected with the Boston Harbor Islands include

2046-615: The dominant resource objective, but with multiple intensive uses allowed. But because most units contained a combination of natural, historic, and recreational lands, the General Authorities Act of 1970 made all areas equal within the National Park System ; separate policy manuals for each were replaced in 1975 with one that would tailor policies in each park respective to the purpose of zones within. In 1972 Congress established two NRAs in urban areas as

2108-477: The existing recreation areas under the new national designation ( Lake Roosevelt and Curecanti NRAs are the only NPS areas that have not been permanently established by Congress or the president ). Lake Mead is still the largest NRA and is the most visited among those at reservoirs. The first new NRA under USFS administration was Spruce Knob–Seneca Rocks National Recreation Area , established in 1965. Congress initially authorized Delaware Water Gap NRA in 1965 with

2170-995: The expectation that the Tocks Island Reservoir would serve the New York and Philadelphia areas as the first NRA east of the Mississippi River, but local and environmental opposition led to the dam's cancellation. The NRA remains as the forested area intended to be flooded by the Delaware River . Mount Rogers NRA was also delayed and downsized, losing a planned reservoir and ski area. A 1968 NPS publication outlined policies for administration of recreational areas, which were distinct from its natural and historical areas. This included not only NRAs but also national lakeshores and seashores , national parkways , and some national scenic riverways; at that time there were 22 such areas, and recreation would be

2232-606: The first urban national parks: Golden Gate NRA in the San Francisco area and Gateway NRA in New York City, both with beaches, historic military sites, and natural conservation areas. Spearheaded by Director George Hartzog , this controversially expanded the Park Service's responsibilities into local urban recreation (in addition to the National Capital Parks ), and after he left, the NPS opposed

2294-463: The harbor islands when writing his novel Shutter Island , citing a childhood visit to Long Island. The harbor islands are also featured in the film adaptation , as portions of the movie were shot at Peddocks Island. Spectacle Island is featured in Fallout 4 as an explorable location and settlement. National recreation area A national recreation area ( NRA ) is a protected area in

2356-505: The islands by indigenous people of Massachusetts, and complex natural communities. Attractions include hiking trails, beaches, the Civil War -era Fort Warren , and Boston Light , the oldest lighthouse station in the United States. Georges Island and Spectacle Island are served seasonally by ferries to and from Boston , and Peddocks Island is served by a ferry from Hingham . The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area

2418-630: The islands have also served as sites for ceremony and burial grounds. During King Philip's War, English colonists distrusted indigenous people, even those that had converted to Christianity and moved to “praying towns.” Colonists forcefully removed hundreds of Native American people, mostly women and children, from their homes in these towns (along with non-Christian Native Americans) and placed them in internment camps on Deer Island, Long Island, Peddocks Island, and Great Brewster Island. With inadequate shelter and food, about half of them died due to starvation or exposure while others were sold into enslavement in

2480-420: The islands is also extensive, with native, non-native, and invasive species present depending on the history of the island in question. Native trees include eastern cottonwood, quaking aspen, northern red oak, bitternut hickory, and sassafras, among many others. Herbaceous plants and shrubs inhabit many of the islands’ meadows, forests, and coasts. Various species of protist and fungus have also been documented on

2542-516: The islands.   Because of the park's abundance of healthy habitat for shorebirds, the park was designated a Massachusetts Important Bird Area. The park surveys bird species as indicators for the ecological health of the park. Six species in the park are listed through the Massachusetts Natural Heritage Program. These include the following bird species: barn owl, common tern, least tern, Northern harrier; and

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2604-411: The islands. Humpback, fin, minke, and North Atlantic right whales are occasional visitors to the harbor along with other marine mammals like porpoises and dolphins. The islands are rich with mollusks, including many species of mussel, snail, clam, oyster, and more. Marine arthropods like crab and lobster can be found here as well as many terrestrial arthropods, such as insects and arachnids. Plant life on

2666-487: The most visited units of the National Park System, with six among the thirty most visited sites. The first NRA was Lake Mead National Recreation Area , which was created by a 1936 agreement between the United States Bureau of Reclamation (USBR), which had built Hoover Dam , and the National Park Service (NPS), which had experience in managing visitors in the outdoors. Because the reservoir had disturbed

2728-474: The most, each with four. NRAs of the USFS have a total area of 3,261,818 acres (13,200 km ), and those of the NPS total 3,714,735 acres (15,033 km ). The BLM's one NRA is approximately 1,000,000 acres (4,000 km ). The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation was planning the construction of Boulder Dam (now Hoover Dam) on the Colorado River in the late 1920s and saw the potential for recreation at

2790-478: The natural state of the environment, a new designation was devised that allowed for more intensive land use while maintaining the NPS's role in conservation and historic preservation. The system of NRAs grew as the USBR constructed more dams near urban areas where there was a need for outdoor recreation. NRAs are managed by the NPS, the United States Forest Service (USFS), and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Of

2852-479: The need for multiple-use planning. The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 for the first time established recreation as well as wildlife as an equal priority for the Forest Service with range, timber, and watershed oversight. The Park Service took a utilitarian approach to its recreation areas, acknowledging their less-than-national significance and focused on providing useful facilities and allowing

2914-449: The online internet news website/magazine Huffington Post detailed "a growing campaign to quash the potential nomination of New York City Police commissioner Raymond Kelly as the next secretary of the Department of Homeland Security" amid claims of "divisive, harmful, and ineffective policing that promotes stereotypes and profiling". Days after that article, Kelly penned a statistics-heavy Wall Street Journal opinion article defending

2976-411: The park's 35+ miles of coasts and shoreline are intertidal and subtidal zones, rocky beaches, and coastal bluffs. Forests, grassy meadows, salt marshes, and other habitats can be found on some islands. These marine and terrestrial habitats are homes to many different species of animal. Land animals include coyote, common raccoon, and white-tailed deer. More than 200 species of bird have been documented on

3038-492: The park. The park boundaries also include sites of former lighthouses and range lights that are no longer standing, some of which have been replaced by modern structures. The park is home to six sites that have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including three National Historic Landmarks. These also include mainland access points, such as Long Wharf, that were named in the park's establishing legislation. The park contains an extensive array of habitats. Among

3100-400: The plant species sea beach dock and American sea blite. The Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area is managed by the Boston Harbor Islands Partnership, a statutory body established as a federal operating committee by the park enabling legislation. The partnership consists of individual members who represent a range of federal, state, city, and nonprofit agencies, including: Apart from

3162-429: The public lands. A 1932 study by Yellowstone National Park superintendent Roger Toll evaluated the region and recognized some sites of interest but again dismissed it as inconsistent with national parks' and monuments' standards and purpose of preservation. Separately that year the secretary's advisor Louis C. Cramton led further studies of the area between the dam site and Grand Canyon National Park and recommended

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3224-535: The purchase of land at several NRAs. Three federal agencies manage the 40 NRAs. The National Park Service, in the Department of the Interior , manages 18, the U.S. Forest Service , in the Department of Agriculture , manages 22, and the Bureau of Land Management , in the Department of the Interior, manages one. One NRA, Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity , comprises three units, two of which are Forest Service and one

3286-581: The question of the controversial "stop and frisk" policy in New York City and the long decline and drop of various types of crimes committed. The Office of the Secretary (OS) oversees the execution of the duties of the Department of Homeland Security. Certain elements also aid the Secretary of Homeland Security and senior officials of the Department of Homeland Security, as well as private sector and government partners in their duties. The Office of

3348-577: The recreational use of the land. The establishing legislation of each NRA usually specifies multiple purposes of the designation. Hunting is by default banned in areas of the National Park Service unless explicitly permitted by law; 15 of 18 NRAs of the NPS allow hunting – and it is generally permitted in National Forest lands – in accordance with local rules. The Mississippi National River and Recreation Area and Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area share many features with

3410-531: The representative for the Coast Guard, who is appointed by the Secretary of Homeland Security , all the members of the partnership are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior after consultation with the appropriate agency or other body. In practice, day-to-day management of each individual island or other site is the responsibility of one of the partner agencies or other bodies. The partnership provides

3472-553: The reservoir area and highlight natural features and development needs. Despite the lack of legislation establishing the reservation, the USBR's inability to manage the influx of tourists at the newly finished Lake Mead led Interior Secretary Harold L. Ickes to direct for negotiation of a memorandum of agreement that gave the NPS responsibility for the reserved lands and surface of the lake, but not Boulder Dam itself, maintaining mining and grazing so long as they did not disrupt recreation. Ickes signed it on October 13, 1936, establishing

3534-455: The scenic area in Nevada and Arizona around the future Lake Mead , to then be the world's largest reservoir. The car was expanding access to travel in the growing Southwest and the USBR wanted to bring about the outdoor activities that would be enabled by its enormous project, but it lacked the experience and desire to provide facilities and services for recreation. Following the controversy of

3596-588: Was ruled unlawful . f. Peter Gaynor served as acting secretary in his capacity as Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator. g. David Pekoske served as acting secretary in his capacity as Administrator of the Transportation Security Administration While appointment of acting officials is generally governed by the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA),

3658-517: Was as follows: George W. Bush nominated Bernard Kerik for the position in 2004. However a week later, Kerik withdrew his nomination, explaining that he had employed an illegal immigrant as a nanny. By July 2013, Raymond Kelly had served as Commissioner of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for nearly 12 straight years. Within days of Homeland Security secretary Janet Napolitano 's announcement that she

3720-488: Was praised for its scenic and historic resources but rejected in 1930 by NPS Director Horace M. Albright due to a reservoir's inherent lack of a natural landscape expected for a national park . The political leaders at the Department of the Interior nevertheless wanted to manage the significant lands for tourism and recreation. Farming interests in the Arizona Strip area also wanted to keep their grazing access to

3782-455: Was resigning, Kelly was soon cited as an obvious potential successor by New York senator Charles Schumer and others. During a July 16, 2013, interview, President Obama referred generally to the "bunch of strong candidates" for nomination to head the Department of Homeland Security , but singled out Kelly as "one of the best there is" and "very well qualified for the job". Later in July 2013,

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3844-591: Was the highest ranking Senate-approved presidential appointee at the Department of Homeland Security . c. Elaine Duke served as acting secretary in her capacity as Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security . d. Kevin McAleenan served as acting secretary in his capacity as Commissioner of Customs and Border Protection . His tenure was ruled unlawful . e. Chad Wolf served as acting secretary in his capacity as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Strategy, Policy, and Plans . His tenure

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