|
FEATURED PARK
Canaveral National Seashore, Florida
As cold winter winds whip across the north, Florida's sunny beaches become exceptionally appealing. Canaveral National Seashore, located on a barrier island off the east coast of Florida, offers a lovely escape.
The park boasts the longest stretch of undeveloped shoreline on Florida's Atlantic coast, so you won't find fast food stands, motels, or t-shirt vendors. What you will find are 23 miles of unspoiled beaches, dunes, and lagoons. It's not unheard of to glimpse a wood stork fishing in a canal, a West Indian Manatee floating near the surface in Mosquito Lagoon, or a loggerhead sea turtle laying its eggs on the beach at night. These are just a few of the threatened and endangered species that call the park home.
The park also features intriguing remnants of human inhabitants. There are more than 100 "middens"--heaps of shells, broken pottery, and discarded arrowheads left by the Timucuan Indians, the area's first known inhabitants.
View the slideshow > >
OUR LATEST CAMPAIGN
Everglades National Park Needs Our Help
 NPCA is working hard to stop a massive limestone mining project from devastating Everglades National Park. If allowed, the mine would irreversibly destroy critical wetlands, threaten endangered species, and contaminate local drinking water supplies, all while costing taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars.
Although the Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for issuing permits to allow the mining, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the ultimate authority to stop the proposed mining project by denying necessary permits.
Earlier this year, a federal judge determined that the Corps violated the law when it issued permits to allow mining that would destroy more than 5,000 acres of wetlands near Everglades. But the Corps is now set to reissue those permits, as well as approve the destruction of additional wetlands. Together with existing mines, this would amount to converting 30 square miles of our treasured Everglades--an area nearly equal to the City of Miami's landmass--into mining pits. We can't let that happen!
If you haven't done so already, please take action now to protect Everglades National Park. Tell EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson that current proposals will cause unacceptable damage to Everglades and that she must act now to stop the proposed mines.
Take Action Today > >
America's Best Idea Returns!
 This fall, Ken Burns's sweeping documentary film about our national parks, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, captured America's imagination.
If you missed it the first time or are simply craving a rerun, the film will air again beginning January 27th, 2010 on PBS stations around the country, featuring an episode every week through March 3rd. (Check your local PBS stations for details.)
Filmed over the course of more than six years in nature's most spectacular locales--including Acadia, Yosemite, the Everglades, and Gates of the Arctic--the film tells the story of people from every conceivable background who devoted themselves to saving precious portions of the land they loved, and in doing so reminded Americans of the full meaning of democracy.
But this is not just a movie. This is our opportunity to inspire all Americans to dedicate themselves to protecting and preserving our national parks so that the parks can be enjoyed, explored, and cherished by our children, our grandchildren, and by all future generations.
Share your love of the national parks by gathering with friends and family to watch this powerful documentary.
Learn More > >
NPCA AT WORK FOR THE PARKS
Clear Skies At Risk in Bryce Canyon National Park
 Bryce Canyon National Park, located in southwestern Utah, offers extraordinary dark skies thanks to good air quality, elevation, and lack of light pollution. It's one of the premier night sky destinations in North America, and this summer, the park will host the 10th Annual Astronomy Festival.
Unfortunately, the clear skies above the park are at risk. Utah's first open-pit coal mine has been proposed for development a mere 10 miles from the park boundary. Lights from the mine, airborne dust, and air pollution would threaten Bryce Canyon's pristine skies.
NPCA's Southwest Regional Office is working hard to protect the park from these threats, and recently filed a petition with the Utah Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining to block the proposed mine. NPCA will be reaching out to online park supporters as soon as the public comment period opens up--when the time comes, please help us protect Bryce Canyon by sharing your voice!
Clean Air Victory
Shenandoah National Park Protected
 When visitors take in the lovely mountain views from the many lookouts in Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, they might not be thinking about power plants in Ohio. Yet coal-fired power plants in Ohio and the Midwest often cause diminished air and water quality in places like Shenandoah. Park ecosystems, wildlife, the health of park visitors, and the vitality of local businesses that depend on park tourism are all threatened by coal-fired power plants.
So when NPCA learned about a proposal for a new power plant in Ohio, we appealed the coal plant's air permit. With the help of dedicated NPCA members and ally organizations, we challenged the plant on the grounds that the permit allowed it to release more air emissions than what we believed to be acceptable under the laws designed to protect air quality. We also appealed the permit because the state and company failed to consult with the people responsible for managing and protecting national park resources.
We are delighted to announce that on November 25, 2009, American Municipal Power announced the cancellation of its plan to build a new 960-megawatt coal-fired power plant in southeastern Ohio.
The cancellation of this facility is a victory for Shenandoah National Park and clean air in the region. As a result of this cancellation, more than 7.3 million tons of carbon dioxide, 6,820 tons of sulfur dioxide, 3,194 tons of nitrogen oxides, and 172 pounds of mercury will not be emitted into the air.
Your support is critical to our clean air work for the parks. Thank you for working with us to protect our national parks.
Your Leadership. A Gift for the Future.
 Become a Trustees for the Parks member today and join a key circle of visionary leaders in national park protection. With your contribution of $1,000 or more, you will help NPCA protect America's greatest cultural, historic, and natural treasures--our national parks--for our children and grandchildren. Will you pass on a healthier, sounder society to those who come after you? As a Trustee for the Parks your significant investment in NPCA's critical mission can be the footprint you leave behind.
As a token of our appreciation for becoming a Trustee for the Parks you will receive a beautiful coffee table book titled, The National Parks: Our American Landscape, by award-winning photographer Ian Shive.
To join, or to share your love of the parks, visit NPCA online.
National Park Champion
In Their Own Words
 The story of our national parks is a story of Americans from all walks of life--artists, explorers, soldiers, scientists, vacationers, rich and poor, who fell in love with America's most special places and worked to save those places for everyone to enjoy.
It is a story that continues today, as individual Americans continue the fight to protect parks big and small around the country. We invite you to listen to the stories of today's park champions--in their own words.
Learn how Maxine Johnston became the godmother of Big Thicket National Preserve. Find out why Clarence Moriwaki has spent a decade working to ensure that no one forgets about the 120,000 Japanese Americans forcibly removed to internment camps during World War II. Or hear the words of Reverend Diana McDaniel, an ardent supporter of the Port Chicago Naval Magazine National Memorial, which has just became our 392nd national park!
Listen Today > >
|
