08.25.16

Hoeven, Federal, State Officials Release Commemorative Theodore Roosevelt National Park Quarter

Coin Memorializes Theodore Roosevelt for Contributions to Conservation on 100th Anniversary of the Park Service

MEDORA, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven, along with federal and state officials, today marked the 100th anniversary of the national parks system with the release of a commemorative Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarter. Roosevelt founded the U.S. Forest Service in 1906, a decade before the National Park Service was established on August 25, 1916 by President Woodrow Wilson.

“Theodore Roosevelt National Park, like all of our national parks, preserves not only our beautiful natural landscape, but also our cultural and historical legacy as a nation,” Hoeven said. “Teddy Roosevelt ranched in this country in the years before statehood, and if he were here with us today, I believe he would be proud and pleased that we have preserved this park for ourselves and our posterity.”

The coin depicts a young Theodore Roosevelt on horseback surveying the terrain near the Little Missouri River. It memorializes the 26th president for his enduring contributions to the conservation of our natural heritage, and his role in laying the groundwork for the nation’s 56 national parks.

The release of the coin is part of the America the Beautiful National Parks Quarter Act, which was passed by Congress in 2008. Inscriptions on the North Dakota coin are “Theodore Roosevelt,” “North Dakota,” “2016” and “E Pluribus Unum.”

Hoeven, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the committee has approved a $20 million program that will match donations dollar for dollar in order to leverage support for the national park system, notably critical infrastructure investments.

The Theodore Roosevelt National Park quarter is the second commemorative coin honoring North Dakota. The 50 State Quarters Program created by Congress in 1997 directed the Mint to release a series of commemorative coins for general circulation. In 2004, then-Governor Hoeven invited North Dakotans of all ages to submit suggestions for the image on the coin. An image of two grazing bison against a backdrop of the North Dakota Badlands was chosen for the coin in 2005.

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