Who We Are
NPCA's Mission
NPCA's mission is to protect America’s National Park System for present and future generations.
NPCA Northwest office is the foremost expert on National and NW park issues. NWRO leads broad coalitions and designs campaigns that restore native species, maintains appropriate public access and guarantees adequate funding for current national parks. In addition, NPCA will identify and advocate for the creation and expansion of NW parks.
NPCA's History
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.
Recognizing the need once again for a regional presence in the northwest, NPCA reopened its Northwest Regional Office in late 2002 with its Parks Information Center and Gallery open to the public in May, 2003. Unique among the regional offices, the Parks Information Center seeks to inspire conservation and NPCA affiliation through professional art and photography of national parks and to motivate visitors to protect parks by taking action on critical regional and national park issues. This regional office is also noteworthy for its innovative summer outreach campaigns and use of volunteers in many aspects of its operations. Since its May, 2003 opening, volunteers have contributed 6,500 hours towards protection of our national parks.
