What is a National Site?
The authorizing legislation for the Park Quarter proposal provides for circulating quarter dollar coins emblematic of “a national park or other national site” in each U.S. State, Territory, and the District of Columbia. But what is a “national site” and why is this additional term necessary?
Not every U.S. State actually contains a national park. Ironically, the bill was introduced by Rep. Michael Castle of Delaware, the only U.S. State which does not contain a national park. The additional term was necessary, in part, so that the program would work for each state and territory within its scope.
The bill contains language which explains the extremely broad definition of a “national site”:
The term “national site” means any site under the supervision, management, or conservancy of the National Park Service, the United States Forest Service, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or any similar department or agency of the Federal Government, including any national park, national monument, national battlefield, national military park, national historical park, national historic site, national lakeshore, seashore, recreation area, parkway, scenic river, or trail and any site in the National Wildlife Refuge System.
While the state of Delaware will have to invoke the use of a “national site” since they do not have a national park, it will be interesting to see the choices made by other states. Will every state propose designs involving national parks, or will some opt for other “national sites” as allowed by the proposal?