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.
After the opening of the Southeast Regional Office in 1992, we have helped to protect 10,000 acres adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, prevented strip mining adjacent to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park in Kentucky, and protected viewsheds of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. We are presently collaborating with local communities and elected officials to promote legislation that addresses air & water pollution, sustainable growth of adjacent communities, and funding for the 2016 Centennial Challenge.
