To better appreciate the different plates issued in the various National Parks of Argentina, we must go back to their creation.

The first border dispute between Argentina and Chile took place between 1896 and 1902. During that period, expert Francisco Pascasio Moreno intervened on behalf of the Argentine government. To resolve the dispute, he advocated territorial division along the lines of the high peaks, a position that ultimately prevailed over the Chilean position, which favored a watershed.

As a reward for his efforts, the Argentine government gave him 25 square leagues (equivalent to 625 km2 or 62,500 hectares) located in the southwestern sector of what is now Nahuel Huapi National Park. In 1903, Perito Moreno donated 7,500 hectares to be used for the creation of a National Park, and the remaining leagues were donated to support education. In 1908, the Park was expanded to 43,000 hectares during the presidency of José Figueroa Alcorta (1906–1910). On April 8, 1922, it was expanded again to 785,000 hectares and designated the Southern National Park (Parque Nacional del Sur,) under the presidency of Hipólito Yrigoyen (1916–1922). It was chaired by an ad-honorem commission that was more theoretical than practical; it did nothing significant, as it was merely figurative. In 1934, Dr. Exequiel Bustillo assumed the presidency of this commission and quickly secured the approval of Law 12.103, which created the Nahuel Huapi National Park and the Iguazú National Park. This occurred on August 30, 1934, under the presidency of General Augustín P. Justo (1932-1938).

Exequiel Bustillo's enthusiasm and good political connections made possible the execution of all the fundamental works that Nahuel Huapi National Park has to this day, from buildings to the road network. These tasks required perfect local administration, which was superior to that of the fledgling municipality of San Carlos de Bariloche, whose jurisdiction was very limited. This is probably why the National Parks Department took over vehicle registration in the rest of the area, that is, outside the municipal boundaries. It should be noted that Bariloche is located within Nahuel Huapi National Park, and therefore all residents residing outside the municipal boundaries of Bariloche could register their vehicles under the jurisdiction of National Parks.

This may explain the high numbers appearing on some of their issued license plates. The exact date of this is still a matter of investigation. The imposing building of the National Parks Administration in Bariloche was inaugurated in May 1936, so it is estimated that these license plates began to circulate after this date on vehicles belonging to citizens residing outside the municipal boundaries of San Carlos de Bariloche, but within the Park area. The oldest date seen is 1939.

The golden age continued under the presidencies of Roberto Mario Ortiz (1938-1942) and Ramón Castillo (1942-1943). In 1943, political instability led to the first military coup, and Pedro Pablo Ramírez assumed the presidency of this organization. This mandate lasted no more than a year, but during that time, a decision was made to annex a Tourism Directorate to the National Parks. This important fact explains the incorporation of labels such as the one shown in plate No. 209 of 1948, on which the initials P.N.T. (National Parks and Tourism) can be clearly seen, although the label is incomplete. The last plates with the year printed on the plate are supposedly issued in 1948, so the broken label likely dates from 1949.

But let's go back a few years to continue the chronology. The next military officer to assume the presidency was Edelmiro Farrel (1944-1946). During this term, Exequiel Bustillo's resignation as President of National Parks and Tourism was accepted on June 12, 1944. By this point, the financial resources of this department had been severely limited, and the slow decline of its former power was beginning. Since Juan D. Perón took office in 1946, it must have been that toward the end of his presidency, Tourism was again separated from Parks, most likely in 1954. It can be noted that on the 1955 tab, the space where the letter T used to be is left empty, and by 1956 and subsequent years, the text "P.N" is aligned.

The The five tabs seen in the photo below confirm that the park was once again called National Parks, based on the initials P.N. printed on them, starting in 1955, along with the years of issue. They were placed on license plates such as number 195 (undated), sharing the same mounting holes for the vehicle. The 1957 sticker belongs to my friend and colleague Helga; the others are from my collection.

On the other hand, the Río Negro Territory was provincialized in 1958, and the Luelmo Law was passed in the Constituent Assembly, which removed large areas from the jurisdiction of the National Parks. The issue of vehicle registration in National Parks was effectively eliminated. 1958 was probably the last year in which private vehicles with National Park license plates circulated with their respective stickers, in this case yellow.

In the case of Los Alerces National Park, located in the province of Chubut, the same rule has likely applied to private vehicles belonging to residents registered within the park.

From this point on, it is assumed that the General Directorate of National Parks issued license plates such as 031 for its official vehicles, which were probably used until 1979. These plates could be considered official. Later, another model was used, such as the white one with gold lettering, estimated to have been in use until 1995. This same model has been seen but in green, the reason for these two colors being unknown.

In addition to those I have in my collection, from Nahuel Huapi National Park (Río Negro-Neuquén), Los Alerces National Park (Chubut), and Perito Moreno National Park (Santa Cruz), there are also some from Los Glaciares National Park (Santa Cruz) and Iguazú National Park (Misiones). And probably also from Lanín National Park (Neuquén).

(*) My sincere thanks and appreciation to my friend and colleague Helga, who has dedicated much time and effort to collecting data on the history of the plate of Bariloche, Río Negro and National Parks, and who has kindly provided me with everything detailed in the paragraphs described above.