Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the
Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors
Theodore Roosevelt of
New York and
Foster M. Voorhees of
New Jersey in response to the destruction of the
Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century. The Palisades are the cliffs on the west bank of the
Hudson River across from and continuing north of
Manhattan Island. The commission consists of ten commissioners, five appointed by each governor, who serve staggered five-year terms.