Dear NPCA,
This issue of Explorer starts off in Colorado, with a visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. Then we'll turn our attention to a huge victory in the Everglades and serious concerns over the President's proposed 2007 budget for the entire Park Service. If you can't get out to the parks to enjoy the first hints of spring, we've got the second best thing: Enjoy the sights and sounds of the park from your desktop with a special slideshow courtesy of photographer Florian Schulz and NPS's Natural Sounds program, highlighted in this issue of National Parks magazine.
In This Issue:
Featured Park: Rocky Mountain National Park
Campaign Update: Budget Woes
NPCA at Work: Victory in the Everglades
This Issue of National Parks Magazine: Listening to the Parks, Spying on Harlequins
Save the Date: National Park Week, Earth Day
In the Spotlight: Your Purchase Can Help Our National Parks!
Featured Park: Rocky Mountain National Park
Staff Journal: Amy Marquis, Assistant Editor, National Parks Magazine
This month, instead of simply profiling a park, we bring you a staff journal from Amy L. Marquis, National Parks' magazine assistant editor, who visited Rocky Mountain National Park in February, as part of a photographer's conference in Denver. We hope you enjoy this up-close look at one of Colorado's most beautiful landscapes, seen through the eyes of an NPCA employee.
February 12, 2006
Our bus streams across a flat highway, leading us out of Denver’s sprawling suburbs and into the foothills of Estes Park, Colorado—the gateway community to Rocky Mountain National Park. After a high-energy week of networking at the annual gathering of the North American Nature Photography Association, I’m thankful for this escape to the mountains.
The range glows pink and godlike outside the bus window as the sun climbs higher in the east. So these are the pastels photographers speak of with that glimmer in their eyes. As an editor on National Parks magazine, I see these landscapes all the time—but to finally observe one off the printed page is a completely different experience. It's no wonder Native Americans made this land their religion.
We’re on our way to a nature photography field trip, but I'm not a photographer. So as the bus stops just inside the park entrance, where we spot a herd of elk a football field away, I feel amateur and out of place, my point-and-shoot camera ridiculous next to the massive lenses and tripods. In time, word gets out that I’m an editor at a respected conservation magazine, and I start to remember I’m not so out of place after all. Even so, I stay mindful of the fact that I'm a rookie here, as Rules of the Field fly at me left and right: Stay out of a photographer's line of sight; watch where your shadow falls; and be aware of the ground beneath you—heaven forbid you leave a footprint in the snow and muck up a perfectly pristine picture. Photographers, I quickly learn, can be a grumpy breed when competing for space. So I retreat to a cluster of rocks halfway up a wind-swept hill, where I watch an elk tug on pine needles, moving its floppy, velvet lips with a serious sort of expression that is, at the same time, quite amusing. Our route, led by renowned nature photographers Wendy Shattil and Bob Rozinski, is straightforward: We enter through the Fall River Entrance, loop over Deer Ridge Junction, then take the road toward Bear Lake—lunching beside a frozen creek in Moraine Park on the way. Our return includes a stop at the Horseshoe Park overlook, where we photograph a feisty trio of magpies, and a quick drive by at the Lawn Lake flood area.
I sense my perceptions shifting from a casual park visitor to someone who sees like a nature photographer. I don't just see a mountain, I see an emerald green hill backlit with a cerulean sky and a hawk that's drifting perfectly into the Rule of Thirds--a concept photographers use to frame images more dramatically. This is what four hours in a park with a group of nature photographers does to you. They teach you to analyze the land with technical, disciplined eyes. And before you know it, the f-stops, polarizing filters, and heavy 500mm lens become the art form that stirs your creative soul in ways that casual observing cannot. It's a feeling that I'll recall every time a photographer’s images come across my desk, as I go about the difficult work of conveying the beauty of these special places using nothing more than paper and ink.
IF YOU GO: April is a bit early for wildflowers, but it is still an excellent time to view deer and elk, which still roam the lower elevations easily accessible by car. The mountain peaks are still striking and snow-capped and reflect nicely in the lakes that continue to thaw. Weather in April can be pleasant, but visitation is still low, so it's easy to find a corner of the park all to yourself. Listen at night for great horned owls and their nestlings, and the sounds of coyote packs howling across the meadows. Later in April, birds migrate to the area in preparation for nesting, providing even more opportunities for those with cameras, binoculars, or simply a keen pair of eyes.
Campaign Update: Budget Woes 
As far as the national parks are concerned, the proposed federal budget for 2007 is the worst it has been in years. The President's request of $2.15 billion for the Park Service is $100 million below the Park Service's current budget. Even the request for park operations fails to cover fixed costs, which could greatly impact visitor services and resource protection. This drastic cut in the Park Service's budget for construction, maintenance, and repair will hinder its ability to address the backlog plaguing so many of our parks.
This proposed budget will virtually cripple the Park Service’s ability to manage our national parks. The Park Service is barely sustaining itself on current levels, and it cannot afford another blow to its budget. Contact your representatives and urge them to push for a significant increase to the FY07 budget. Take Action Now!
Resolve to Protect our National Parks!
Rocky Mountain National Park is well known for its beauty and natural wildness. To maintain its special features for generations to come, it needs our protection. Please help NPCA protect Rocky Mountain and all of our national parks by making a gift today!
NPCA at Work: Victory in the Everglades 
NPCA's hard work in the Everglades Lakebelt Lawsuit has resulted in a clear victory for the fragile landscape that defines southern Florida. A limestone quarry that was planned for the area has been halted, and a new construction permit won't be issued until the Army Corps of Engineers has conducted an environmental impact statement and prepared better mitigation plans, including the purchase and protection of other crucial Everglades wetlands.
In 2002, NPCA, along with Sierra Club and Natural Resources Defense Council, filed a lawsuit challenging permits to mine limestone in the Everglades. The Army Corps of Engineers approved a permit to convert 22,000 acres of wetlands into open mining pits. NPCA called for the permits to be withdrawn and a supplemental environmental impact statement prepared. In March, the U.S. District Court Judge found in our favor on every count. The judge's opinion is a careful and thoughtful analysis that condemns the Corps for granting the permits in the first place and for failing to consider the potential impact on wildlife migration, endangered species, water seepage out of Everglades National Park, wells in the Miami-Dade area, and further implications concerning the Clean Water Act. NPCA is continuing to analyze the 186-page opinion, but the ruling is an unambiguous victory. This issue has loomed over the Everglades for years, and although the project has yet to be terminated completely, the ruling is a significant win, and one that NPCA's supporters should savor for some time.
This Issue of National Parks Magazine 
Western parks like Rocky Mountain, Yellowstone, and Glacier offer spectacular views and incredible memories for those who have visited, but their preservation continues to present ongoing challenges. The spring issue of National Parks magazine focuses on mining and drilling on the outskirts of many parks including Rocky Mountain and Grand Canyon, the preservation of wildlife corridors connecting Yellowstone to the Yukon, and the plight of the harlequin duck in Glacier National Park. You can also read about endangered coral in Biscayne National Park, the Park Service's natural sound program, and just what separates those towering Redwoods from puny little maples and elms. Read the Stories!
Watch a special slideshow illustrating the National Park System’s Natural Sounds Program. [Flash Player 8 Required]
Save the Date! 
National Park Week is April 22-30. If you're interested in attending one of the Park Service's many educational programs or volunteering for important restoration efforts, visit http://www.nps.gov/npweek or contact the nearest national park in your neck of the woods.
Your Purchases Can Help Our National Parks! 
Every time you make a purchase with your NPCA Chase Visa, you support NPCA programs. For every $10 you charge with your NPCA Visa, NPCA will receive 6 cents toward our efforts on behalf of national parks. Apply today! To learn more about the NPCA Chase Visa call 888-215-3049 or visit the NPCA Chase Visa page.
From all the Staff at NPCA,
Thank you for your time and dedication to helping enhance and protect our national parks for present and future generations.
NPCA's park protection work is made possible by the generous support of people like you. An introductory membership is just $15, and includes a subscription to our award-winning National Parks magazine. Join Us Today!
