Former President Jimmy Carter has been made an Honorary Park Ranger/NPS

Nearly four decades after he signed into law some of the most sweeping pieces of legislation affecting the National Park System, former President Jimmy Carter has been made an honorary park ranger.

The former president was bestowed the award and title at an intimate ceremony Sunday by National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. This is the highest civilian honor awarded by the agency, and is reserved for individuals whose contribution to the National Park System is exceptional.

“President Carter embodies the spirit and principals of the National Park Service and it is a great honor for me to present him with this award,” said Director Jarvis. “As we look forward to our agency’s next 100 years, we can look back and be inspired by the incredible work of President Carter.”

“This is indeed an honor for me,” said President Carter, who received the honor in his hometown of Plains, Georgia. “Before I became president I was already deeply committed to the outdoors. I am very proud to have been an integral part of the conservation movement.”

President Carter puts on his NPS Stetson during the ceremony Sunday/NPS

President Carter’s signature achievements, through executive and legislative means, created a total of 39 National Park Service units. The parks established under his presidency celebrate our nation’s fight for equal rights with Martin Luther King Junior National Historic Site, Women’s Rights National Historical Park, Kaloko-Honokahau National Historical Park, and Boston African American National Historic Site. The War in the Pacific National Historical Park expanded the span of the National Park Service across the international dateline to Guam.

President Carter established permanent protection of more than 56 million acres in Alaska through the designation of 13 national monuments on December 1, 1978. With that single act, President Carter more than doubled the land area protected under National Park Service management. His use of presidential proclamation to protect those lands from immediate threat was followed by continued advocacy for legislated protection of these lands and waters, culminating in the Alaska National Interests Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) signed December 2, 1980. His bold actions ensured preservation of natural wonders and historic sites, and ensured that the traditions of the native Alaskan people could continue.

President Carter’s remarked upon signing the ANILCA legislation: “We've preserved the unparalleled beauty of areas like the Misty Fiords and Admiralty Island National Monuments in southeast Alaska. And we've ensured that Alaska's Eskimos and Indians and Aleuts can continue their traditional way of life. And we've given the State of Alaska, finally, the opportunity to choose the land which will be theirs through eternity.

"I've been fortunate. I've seen firsthand some of the splendors of Alaska. But many Americans have not. Now, whenever they or their children or their grandchildren choose to visit Alaska, they'll have the opportunity to see much of its splendid beauty undiminished and its majesty untarnished.”

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area are among the units President Carter established that protect important resources and recreational opportunities near urban centers, benefitting millions of visitors annually. Urban parks continue today as the most visited units of the National Park System.

President Carter was a leader in the efforts to protect, recognize and assist communities and urban areas to support outdoor and urban recreation, establishing many programs that are now integral to the National Park Service Urban Agenda.