Who We Are
NPCA was established to protect and enhance the National Park System and to be the pure guardian of the mandate to protect the system’s resources, unimpaired for future generations. One of our founders, Stephen Mather, was also the first director of the National Park Service, which was established in 1916. Mather and others saw a clear need for an independent voice outside of the federal government to protect the nation’s parklands.
Since 1919, the nonpartisan NPCA has been the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhancing the park system's superlative examples of America's natural, cultural, and historic heritage. NPCA and its 325,000 members and supporters are committed to preserving the most diverse park system in the world for us now and for those who will come after.
Opened in the fall of 2007, the Midwest Regional Office works with over 40 parks across 10 states. In this short time, we have helped with a launch of a new non-profit working to save a historic site within Keweenaw National Historical Park, encouraged landowners to work with Cuyahoga Valley National Park, hosted a public meeting to gather public input for the National Parks Second Century Commission and worked with the park service and other partners to seek solutions to balance the need for improved visitor amenities while preserving the historic integrity of the Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. We are currently working on a variety of new issues, including a major project at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.
