On August 7, 1961, when President John F. Kennedy signed the legislation establishing Cape Cod National Seashore, he declared: “I ... hope that this will be one of a whole series of great seashore parks which will be for the inspiration and enjoyment of people all over the United States.” Since then, others indeed have been created and Cape Cod National Seashore has become one of the most popular of the Nation’s public parks, with more than five million visits each year. The diligent and dedicated participation of the Seashore’s Advisory Commission, composed of 10 state, county, and town representatives, helped park officials devise the first comprehensive master plan for the National Seashore. Nonetheless, the “balancing act” of preservation, recreation, and local rights has not always been an easy or a smooth one. Debates continue over recreational demands versus conservation, controversial uses such as beach buggy access, and development within the park. But there are relatively few who do not recognize not only the economic importance of the Seashore but the critical role it has played in realizing former Senator Leverett Saltonstall’s dream of maintaining Cape Cod “so that other Americans, in dire need of the natural grandeur of the clean, open spaces, will find an outlet from their crowded, grimy, urban lives.” What you will find here is a different experience from what is offered in our national parks and most of the other national seashores. There is stunning scenic beauty and wildlife in abundance, to be sure, and the chance to explore and enjoy them on foot, horseback, or bicycle, in a canoe or a sailboat, on a guided walk, at an interpretive talk, or, if you like, simply lying on a beach before the rolling waves. But there is also, by design and intent, the ongoing presence of man, in the hundreds of historic houses, lighthouses, Coast Guard stations, and summer cottages that remain within the Seashore, and in the continuing traditional uses of its lands and waters, such as commercial fishing, lobstering and shellfishing, hunting and berry picking. [Illustration: _On a cloudy day, the Cape’s most obvious icon, the codfish, keeps track of the wind. With a change in the weather, Nauset Marsh glows in autumn light._]