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Meet Laura A. Loomis

Senior Director of Government Affairs

Stand on the edge of the Kansas prairie, and you'll see miles of grassy hills framed against an expansive sky. In the 1990s, Laura Loomis saw this too, but she also saw an unprecedented opportunity for conservation. Laura was instrumental in the bipartisan, decades-long effort to create the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve, dedicated in 1996. She considers the creation of the preserve the most rewarding aspect of her remarkable 30-year tenure at NPCA.

The Tallgrass effort, which involved a broad coalition of legislators, local landowners, and private conservation groups, is a perfect symbol for Laura's work as NPCA's senior director for government affairs. Always committed to protecting park resources and visitors from intrusions such as motorized vehicles, Laura works to ensure that every voice is heard, urging visitors to participate in park planning and decision-making.

Laura has held previous positions as NPCA's director of regional programs, director of grassroots and outreach, and as a specialist for wildlife and natural resource issues. She has directed landmark studies of visitor impacts and organized a workshop on carrying capacity in protected areas for the Fourth World Parks Congress.

"A really important challenge for NPS and NPCA," Laura says, "is to increase visitors' understanding that they're not just visitors. They're really owners. They should have a responsibility for and concern about the way parks are managed and a better understanding of why they exist."