US Congress and were shelved for decades. Not all locals supported the idea of a national park, as they felt that such a designation would damage the economics of the region. The Forest Service was also not in favor of park designation, as they would have to relinquish control over the land to the Park Service, which was not uncommon, since many parks being established were originally managed by the Forest Service. In an effort to appease their detractors, the Forest Service designated Primitive Areas which would provide increased protection to some of the most pristine regions they managed. By the mid-1930s, forester Bob Marshall argued that the region should be set aside as wilderness. Rival interests continued to argue over whether the lands should remain under the management of the Forest Service or the National Park Service, but by the 1960s the environmentalist argument advocating for a national park prevailed. President John F. Kennedy directed the Departments of Agriculture and the Interior to fund a joint study into a possible national park in the North Cascades region, which was completed in January 1966 and submitted to Congress. The size of the national park was subject to debate locally and in Congress, as well as its effect on the local logging industry. The North Cascades National Park Act designated the region as a national park on October 2, 1968, and the National Park Service commenced direct management on January 1, 1969. The North Cascades National Park Act also designated Ross Lake and Lake Chelan National Recreation Areas. Redwood National Park in California was also signed into existence on the same day as the North Cascades. By 1988, much of Bob Marshall's original plan to set aside the future park as wilderness was achieved when almost all of North Cascades National Park was designated as the Stephen Mather Wilderness. Park management North Cascades National Park is managed by the National Park Service, and the park headquarters is in Sedro-Woolley, Washington. The park consists of a northern and a southern district or unit. These are separated by Ross Lake National Recreation Area. The southeast boundary of the southern district abuts Lake Chelan National Recreation Area; the park and two recreation areas are managed as the North Cascades National Park Complex. Most of the park complex was designated as the Stephen Mather Wilderness, preventing further human-induced alterations to 93 percent of the park.