Wild life The national parks preserve all life Poster

" Poster for United States National Park Service, showing a deer drinking from a stream in the forest. 1 print on board (poster): silkscreen, colour. 1940 A national park is a reserve of natural or semi-natural land, declared or owned by a government, set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, and protected from most development. While ideas for national parks had been suggested previously, what is held to be the first one established was the United States' Yellowstone National Park, established in 1872. An international organisation, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and its World Commission on Protected Areas, has defined National Parks as its category II type of protected areas. The largest national park in the world meeting the IUCN definition is the Northeast Greenland National Park, which was established in 1974. A nature reserve (natural reserve, nature preserve, natural preserve) is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research. Nature reserves may be designated by government institutions in some countries, or by private landowners, such as charities and research institutions, regardless of nationality. Nature reserves fall into different IUCN categories depending on the level of protection afforded by local laws. In the U.S. the United States Fish and Wildlife Service is responsible for managing many nature reserves including National Wildlife Refuges. State and local governments administer others and some belong to private trusts, which are funded through personal donations. There are currently 2,205 preservations in the United States.