At the end of this lesson, the students will be able to determine how Haleakalā National Park protects special native habitats and how the students can help protect them too. Background Haleakalā National Park became a national park when it was established on August 1, 1916 as part of Hawai‘i National Park. It became a separate park unit on July 1, 1961. There are over 400 national park sites in the United States. These places include parks, battlefields, monuments, seashores, historic sites, and recreation areas. The National Park Service protects these places because they are important to ou Duration: 60 Minutes.