CELEBRATING ALASKA'S PARKS
NPCA members and supporters are invited to celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) July 6-7 in Anchorage, Alaska. Learn about Alaska's most pressing conservation issues and discover how this remarkable piece of legislation, which protected more than 100 million acres of land, has affected Alaska and the nation. Attendees will include former President Jimmy Carter, who signed ANILCA into law, along with NPCA regional staff and President Tom Kiernan, and leaders in politics and conservation.
Several eco-tour operators around the state of Alaska are offering adventure trips to ANILCA lands before and after the conference, so you can combine the celebration with an unforgettable Alaska vacation. For more information and details on registering for the conference, call 907-646-9000.
Washington, D.C.-The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, passed by the 108th Congress and signed into law by the president on December 8, 2004, provides a ten-year authority for the National Park Service (NPS) to charge recreation fees and reinvest a majority of those fees into enhancing visitor services and facilities in the parks. Prior to this act, the Recreation Fee Demonstration Program provided the parks with more than $1 billion in recreation fees over eight years.
The law will eventually expand the National Parks Pass into a multi-agency, "America the Beautiful Pass," to cover entrance fees for the Park Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Forest Service, and Bureau of Reclamation. Transition to the new pass isn't expected to be complete until 2007, so until then, the annual National Parks Pass will continue to be sold and honored as it has been for years.
Washington, D.C.-Since 1998, the Park Service and Discover Life America have worked with hundreds of biologists and volunteers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park to tally flora and fauna for the All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI), identifying more than 3,300 species not previously known to inhabit the park.
Now those efforts are expanding. In recent months, Point Reyes National Seashore in California has begun an inventory in Tomales Bay, and Maine's Acadia National Park started tallying a completely different set of species. Boston Harbor Island National Recreation Area is planning its first ATBI, and Big Thicket National Preserve, Mammoth Cave National Park, and Olympic National Park are joining the fray as well. Scientists believe this growing assessment of U.S. biodiversity will make us more intelligent stewards of our parks' resources.
