Klagldsf, Zephyr,
Several US ships have been named after National Park (Yellowstone, Everglades), there are also ships named after historic sites and battles (Alamo, Monticello, Carter Hall). While all of the National Parks are managed by the government, not all of the historic sites are government run. All three of the historic sites I listed are owned by private non-profit groups-Daughters of the Texas Revolution, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation respectively.
Also a fine point of US bureaucracy-National Parks and National Forests are established for different management purposes. The US Forest Service is part of the Department of Agriculture (think trees as a crop) while the National Park Service is part of the Department of the Interior. I don't konw of any US ships named for National Forests.
Yes, I know that. My comments were not about ships named after the parks. I was commenting on exhibits within the parks sponsored by corporations. And I'm not saying thats a bad thing, getting additional money to preserve history.
Been studying naval history since the mid-60's. I hope I have figured out USN naming conventions by now.