The Oregon State Highway Commission was created. Initially, it was composed of the governor, secretary of state and state treasurer. From 1917 onward, the commission was entirely a citizen body appointed by the governor.

Governor Oswald West and the State Legislature stopped the sale of state-owned tidelands by declaring Oregon beaches public highways, thus establishing precedent in law for public access to the ocean shore.

Governor Ben Olcott successfully promoted the first legislation authorizing the State Highway Commission to acquire right-of-way, including forested strips, for scenic conservation and roadside tree-planting purposes.

The National Conference on State Parks was organized at the initiative of National Park Service Director Stephen T. Mather to encourage development of parks at the state level that would meet the demand for picnic grounds, bathing and boating areas and other kinds of outdoor recreation facilities intensively used by the public.

The first lands donated to the State Highway Commission for park purposes were received in this year. The initial parcels making up Sarah Helmick State Park were deeded February 15, 1922, followed closely by Clatsop County's agreement to convey the tract that became Bradley State Wayside. Older existing parks, such as Sodaville Springs in Linn County and Provisional Government Park (Champoeg State Park), did not enter the State Parks system until they were deeded by the State Board of Control in the 1940s.

Acting in accord with a broad-based movement for highway beautification, the State Highway Commission established an advisory committee on tree planting. Over the next five years, the committee expanded its concerns from roadside beautification to promoting a system of highway "parks," and the title "Park and Recreation Advisory Committee" was adopted informally. This advisory group was the forerunner of all subsequent Parks advisory bodies. It was active to 1929.

The Highway Commission was authorized by the State Legislature to acquire right-of-way specifically for park purposes. The Park and Recreation Advisory Committee was aided in promoting this broader authority by J. M. Devers, Highway Commission chief counsel, who drafted the bill. The Highway Commission now could acquire land in close proximity to state highways for waysides and natural features of interest.

The state highway system was supported by a dedicated fund accumulated from gasoline tax revenues. Because the associated parks helped to promote motor travel, they could be regarded a legitimate concern of the Highway Commission.

Governor I. L. Patterson formed a State Park Commission composed of the current three-member State Highway Commission and two former highway commissioners. The Park Commission was active only a short time, but before his departure from Highway and Parks panels in 1930, Robert W. Sawyer gained the support of his fellow commissioners to expand the rudimentary system of parks and install a superintendent.

Samuel H. Boardman, who had joined the Highway Department maintenance section in 1919 and was active in the Department's tree-planting program, was designated "state parks engineer." Over the next 21 years, the first superintendent of parks operations built up the land base that is the framework of the present system.

The first significant development of facilities in Oregon State Parks commenced as emergency work relief under the Roosevelt administration's "New Deal" agenda during the Depression era. Improvements in as many as 45 parks were carried out by enrollees of the Civilian Conservation Corps under supervision of the regional office of the National Park Service in San Francisco. The CCC was terminated shortly after United States forces entered the Second World War in 1942.

Governor Julius Meier appointed a State Parks Advisory Commission to meet with the Highway Commission. The advisory group was not long in effect, but its formation reflected continuing public concern for preservation of natural, timbered areas along the state's main tourist roads, such as the Crater Lake Highway.

The National Park Service established the Silver Creek Recreation Demonstration Area on a large tract of submarginal, logged-over land adjacent to state park holdings in Silver Creek Canyon on the west slope of the Cascades. It was one of only two such "New Deal" recreational demonstration projects undertaken on the West Coast. When the project's two youth camps and miles of developed trails were deeded to the State Highway Commission in the late 1940s, Silver Falls State Park became the largest and most comprehensively developed park in the state system.

The Park, Parkway and Recreational Area Study Act directed the National Park Service to undertake a comprehensive survey of park use in America at all levels. In 1938, Oregon contributed a report on present development within the state entitled A Study of Parks, Parkways and Recreational Areas of Oregon. Overall recommendations for filling the need for facilities were published in 1941 as A Study of the Park and Recreation Problem in the United States. The study laid the groundwork for subsequent outdoor recreation planning.

An Advisory Committee on State Parks was formed by the Oregon State Board of Higher Education at the inspiration of paleontologist and Carnegie Institution President Emeritus Dr. John C. Merriam, whose aim was to have the scientific values of the John Day region and other areas protected and appreciated. The committee was short-lived, but its theoretical objective ultimately was realized when Painted Hills and John Day Fossil Beds units were added to the state park system in 1947 and, still later, when the park holdings were transferred to the National Park Service in 1975.

The State Parks Division was established within the Highway Department under authority of state law.

The modern field organization was established with the designation of regional supervisors of park operations. Regional offices were opened in the Willamette Valley, north coast, south coast, central and eastern Oregon. For a brief period in the 1960s, a sixth regional office was established in southern Oregon with headquarters at Roseburg.

The Columbia River Gorge Commission was created by the State Legislature for the purpose of promoting and protecting recreational, scenic and historic areas of the Columbia River Gorge. In such matters, the commission acted as a coordinating body for state and local agencies. It was superseded by a bi-state commission after the gorge was declared a National Scenic Area in 1986. While the State Parks organization never had an administrative connection with the commission, its goals with regard to park development in the gorge were interrelated historically.

Governor Paul Patterson named a State Park Study and Advisory Committee to ascertain needs and recommend goals and policies for Oregon park development. The study committee was composed of the Highway Commission's Advisory Committee on Travel Information headed by William M. Tugman. The State Park Study Committee presented its findings the following year. Commonly known as the "Tugman Report," the study recommended formation of a permanent State Parks advisory committee.

Based on the "Tugman Report," the six-member State Parks Advisory Committee was created as the official advisory body to the State Highway Commission and staff on matters relating to parks and recreation. This, the first enduring parks advisory body, guided and directed policy a little over 31 years. It was superseded by the Parks and Recreation Commission in 1989, when the Parks agency prepared to become a separate department of state government.

The State Legislature broadened the scope of Parks Division responsibilities to include state support for development of local recreation programs and facilities. The position of recreation director was established, and the administrative unit was renamed "State Parks and Recreation Division".

The Parks and Recreation Division completed a comprehensive, two-year survey of recreation needs at all levels. Oregon Outdoor Recreation: A Study of Non-Urban Areas was the state's first long-range master plan for outdoor recreation and was the watershed for subsequent statewide planning efforts.

The Highway Commission was authorized under Oregon law to acquire and develop scenic and historic places. The Legislature thereby provided a basis for policy to preserve for public enjoyment areas and features significant in state history, archaeology and natural science.

The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act was enacted by Congress to provide a program of federal matching grants-in-aid for acquisition and development of outdoor recreation lands and facilities. In the following year, the Parks and Recreation Division was assigned responsibility for administering the federally-sponsored outdoor recreation program in Oregon.

The Lewis and Clark Trail Committee was organized by Governor Mark Hatfield in 1964 to promote a Congressional initiative establishing a national Lewis and Clark Trail Commission. Thereafter, the Oregon committee was authorized under successive governor's executive orders to serve as an advisory body for statewide activities aimed at increasing public awareness of the historic exploring expedition, protecting historic sites and developing recreational resources along the explorers' route. Prior to the committee's most recent reauthorization in 1989, administrative support was provided at various times by State Parks.

The State Legislature codified Oregon outdoor recreation policy. Oregon tidelands, state-owned areas of the ocean shore extending from the ordinary high tide line to extreme low tide, were redesignated under state law as state recreation areas, rather than public highways.

The Oregon Beach Law, promoted by the Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee, was enacted by the State Legislature to provide for the protection of the public's right and access to free and uninterrupted use of ocean beaches. The law, initially controversial, became the basis of an ocean shores management program administered by the Parks organization.

The concept of a Willamette River park system was authorized by the State Legislature.

State legislation gave state and local park agencies authority to accept conservation or scenic easements for the maintenance and protection of open spaces.

A State Department of Transportation was created by Oregon Legislature. The Highway Department became a division of the larger agency, which also coordinated activities of Motor Vehicles, Aeronautics, Ports and Mass Transit divisions. State Parks remained a branch of the Highway Division.

The State Legislature authorized registration of recreation vehicles with provision to assess fees for deposit to the State Highway Fund expressly to support acquisition, development, maintenance and care of state parks.

The State Parks and Recreation Division was assigned responsibility for administering provisions of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 by Governor Tom McCall. Within the division, the State Historic Preservation Office was established to manage the federally-aided program for preservation of historic sites and buildings in Oregon. The State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation was organized the following year in accordance with federal rules.

A Scenic Waterways program was established in Oregon law by initiative vote of the public to provide for protection and enhancement of state-designated free-flowing rivers. It mirrored the purposes of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968. Under authority of a governor's executive order, the Scenic Waterways System Advisory Committee was organized in 1975 to help set policy.

The Oregon Recreation Trails System was recognized in state law when the Recreation Trails Advisory Council was created to promote development of a statewide system of interconnected trails for hiking, bicycling and horseback riding.

The Oregon Parks Foundation was created to encourage growth of parks and recreation facilities statewide and to accept donations of property, money or securities toward that end.

Congress created the 32,000-acre Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area to be administered by the U. S. Forest Service as a part of the Siuslaw National Forest. Located along the coast where it extends nearly 50 miles between the mouth of the Siuslaw River and Coos Bay, the federally designated area adjoins Jessie M. Honeyman, Umpqua Lighthouse and William M. Tugman state parks to make a consolidated recreational corridor of unusual scope on the Pacific coastline.

The Willamette River Greenway program was redefined in state legislation as a cooperative effort of state and local government to protect, preserve and restore natural qualities and historic sites along the Willamette River. The Willamette River Greenway Committee replaced the former Willamette River Park System Committee as advisers.

The Land Conservation and Development Commission was created by the Oregon Legislature. Statewide comprehensive planning regulations created by LCDC included goals relating to the conservation of open spaces, scenic and historic areas and natural resources; recreational needs, the Willamette River Greenway, coastal shorelands, and beaches and dunes.

State legislation was enacted to require a surcharge to nonresident overnight users of state park campgrounds. The moderate extra $2-per-night fee for out-of-state campers was intended to equalize the fee structure for doubly assessed Oregon recreation vehicle users. It was nonetheless controversial and was repealed by the Legislature in 1987.

The Parks and Recreation organization was advanced by action of the State Legislature to full-division status, or administrative rank equal to the State Highway Division and other divisions of the Oregon Department of Transportation. No longer a branch of the Highway Division, the Parks and Recreation Division was accountable directly to the Transportation Commission.

The valuable Park Host program was inaugurated in state park campgrounds. The concept of volunteers providing information and assistance to park visitors in exchange for a campsite was immediately popular and freed park employees for regular duties, particularly during the peak season.

A comprehensive reevaluation of the recreation delivery system was prepared for the Parks Division that recommended a special commission to coordinate planning for recreational facilities development throughout the state. Oregon's Outdoor Recreation Delivery System, better known as the Montgomery Report for the consulting firm that produced it, was not generally accepted at the time, but elements of its recommendations would be reflected in later statewide planning efforts.

The State Parks employee awards program was established as a means of recognizing outstanding service to the agency and the public. The annual presentations were inaugurated with an award of merit for the field organization in 1982. The Art Burt Award was followed by the Sam Boardman Award for central office employees in 1983. The Management Excellence Award, for field management personnel, and Administrative Support Excellence Award, for headquarters and field administrative support staff, were first presented in 1988.

The Oregon Trail Advisory Council was established by governor's executive order to promote public awareness of the historical significance of the Oregon Trail and encourage development and protection of historic sites and recreational resources along the emigrant route, portions of which are paralleled by modern highways in Oregon. State Parks provided administrative support until the council became independently staffed in 1989. The legislation was enacted in anticipation of Oregon Trail sesquicentennial observances in 1993.

From 1969 onward, the State Parks program had been financed, in part, by Oregon recreation vehicle license fees and camping fees, but basic support came from the Highway Fund. In 1980, at a time of world-wide oil shortages, Oregon voters approved a constitutional amendment that restricted use of the gasoline tax-supported Highway Fund for highway construction and maintenance. Consequently, the Parks Division was shifted from its traditional funding base to the state's income tax-supported General Fund. The transition coincided with the onset of economic recession, and the decline in resources was felt in all General Fund agency budgets. Expansion and enhancement of the State Parks system came to a halt. These events prompted the 1983 cost responsibility study and the constructive initiatives that followed in 1985.

The Oregon Legislature approved a cooperating association measure that provided the legal framework for formation of citizen support groups for particular state parks. Funds raised by the nonprofit, tax-exempt associations were to be invested in the parks expressly for educational and interpretive purposes. The cooperating associations quickly came to be known as "Friends" groups based on the precedent of the Friends of Tryon Creek State Park, Friends of Old Fort Stevens and others.

The Governor's Conference on Oregon State Parks was convened by Victor Atiyeh for the purpose of evaluating public comments gathered from a Parks Division "town hall" tour of the state earlier in the year. National, state and local experts joined in making recommendations on the key issues of fees and charges, long-range financing, volunteers and constituency, tourism and planning for the future.

Federal legislation established a 290,000-acre Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area in Oregon and Washington. A bi-state Columbia River Gorge Commission was created by the states to work in partnership with the U. S. Forest Service for the purpose of studying the designated area and developing a regional management plan. The bi-state commission replaced the former Columbia River Gorge Commission.

Legislation was enacted to create the Deschutes River Scenic Waterway Recreation Area and establish the Deschutes River Management Committee. The committee's purpose is to develop a comprehensive, segment-by-segment recreation plan for the lower Deschutes River. The plan is prepared in cooperation with all managing agencies along the lower Deschutes, including federal, state, local and tribal agencies.

The State Legislature directed the Department of Transportation to develop and manage a historic road program for the original, scenic route of the Columbia River Highway. The legislation provided for the Historic Columbia River Highway Advisory Committee to advise the Department and State Parks organization on policy matters pertaining to preservation, restoration and maintenance of the highway.

The State Parks 2010 Citizen Advisory Committee was named by the Transportation Commission to direct a strategic long-range planning process that would guide the Oregon State Parks program to the year 2010. A two-year planning effort ensued that involved the Parks organization at all levels, as well as the public, and drew upon findings of the Governor's Conference of 1985. The ambitious "blueprint for the future" which was presented by the committee at the opening of 1989 led directly to Governor Neil Goldschmidt's proposal for a new Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Oregon Legislature created the Parks and Recreation Department, a wholly independent unit of state government, effective January 1, 1990. A seven-member Parks and Recreation Commission was appointed to replace the former Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee and assume responsibility for directing policy for the new department. Although administratively independent, the Parks organization retained its highly successful operational relationship with the Department of Transportation. A variety of support services, including accounting and personnel services, fuel and equipment procurement, directional signing, road paving and snow removal, for example, continued to be performed on a contractual basis by ODOT.

The Oregon Outdoor Recreation Council was established by governor's executive order to periodically review priorities for recreational development in Oregon and recommend methods of meeting the needs through coordination at all levels of government. The council represents federal, local and state agencies, including the state institutions of higher education where degree programs in the recreation field are offered.