For more than 100 years, the National Parks Conservation Association has been America’s leading voice for the national parks. As an independent, non-partisan nonprofit advocacy organization, we have stood up for national parks before Congress, the White House, and the courts through nineteen Presidential administrations.
The Park Protection Fund is empowering NPCA to navigate the challenges facing our national parks today – and to ensure we’re prepared to act when opportunities arise. When you give to the Park Protection Fund, you are protecting parks, landscapes and monuments, safeguarding wildlife, encouraging balanced energy development, and supporting the people who keep our parks running.
Line at Clingmans Dome in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Lines at national parks will likely continue to grow as there are fewer park rangers to operate entrance booths, campgrounds and visitor centers.
Grandmother and young granddaughter look out to Crater Lake while hiking. Proposed budget cuts of over $1 billion threaten to close approximately 350 national park sites, severely impacting visitor experiences across the country.
Flags fly at Stonewall National Monument in New York. The park’s webpages were recently scrubbed of any mention of the trans community, including webpages about activists Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera, key players in the Stonewall Uprising who later founded one of the first LGBTQ youth shelters in America.
Mojave National Preserve in California has come under threat from increased energy extraction.
Harriet Tubman National Historical Park, NY. References to slavery were temporarily removed from Park Service webpages about the Underground Railroad.
Zion National Park in Utah, recently a target for a concerning legislative amendment that would authorize the selling of public lands surrounding the park.
What You’re Supporting:
National Park Staff
An estimated 12.5% of Park Service staff have left the agency out of fear for their jobs in just the last few months. Those remaining face uncertainty about their job status, hiring freezes and the looming threat of layoffs as the administration works on agency reorganization. NPCA is a leading voice speaking out for the people who protect park resources and ensure visitors have a safe and enjoyable experience. You can join us in telling Congress to prevent further cuts to park staff and funding.
Defending National Monuments
In February, a Department of the Interior Secretarial Order called for an internal review of oil, gas and mining on public lands, including national monuments. Imagine the waters that flow through the Grand Canyon polluted by a nearby mine or the skies in Utah’s Mighty 5 polluted by drilling in Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. NPCA is preparing to defend key national monuments from rollbacks, but also to defend the Antiquities Act itself. Stand with us by sending a message to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking him to take our national monuments off the table.
Telling the American Story
The administration has called for the Department of the Interior to evaluate parks, monuments, memorials and more and rewrite the stories deemed to contain “partisan ideology.” Every single of America’s national parks preserves our shared history and culture. And though that history can sometimes be difficult to reckon with, park visitors should be able trust that the stories found in our national parks are true and objective accounts of an era. NPCA is committed to ensuring our parks tell a full and complete American story.
Securing Park Funding
Last year, America’s national parks saw a record-breaking 331.9 million visitors. Yet they remain understaffed and underfunded despite generating more than $55 billion in economic output annually. NPCA is fighting for adequate funding for the National Park Service in a number of ways, including advocating for the America the Beautiful Act, pushing for Cultural Resources Challenge legislation, and by speaking up to ensure the Park Service budget meets the agency’s needs.
Our Strategy:
We take a multi-pronged approach, working on Capitol Hill, in communities and, when needed, in the courtroom to protect and preserve our national parks. Our staff and policy experts advocate at the federal, state and local level. Our communications team works to increase public awareness and respond quickly to emerging threats. NPCA’s field and regional staff build lasting relationships with local communities, business leaders, Tribal leaders and more to garner more support for our national parks. Our top-notch legal team stands ready to act when the situation arises. Your support of the Park Protection Fund allows NPCA to work nimbly and strategically to address threats to national parks regardless of the political climate
When you support NPCA’s Park Protection Fund, you become part of a distinguished legacy of park protection stretching back more than a century. Your gift ensures that the places that have inspired generations of Americans – from the towering cliffs of Yosemite to the deep canyons of the Southwest to the pristine waters of Acadia – remain protected for future generations.
HELP PROTECT OUR NATIONAL PARKS Donate to NPCA’s Park Protection Fund
For more information, or to discuss how you can support NPCA’s Park Protection Fund, please contact Mary O’Connor, Senior Vice President of Development, at moconnor@npca.org or at (202) 590-7344.
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Press Release
Mount Rainier Rolls Out Limited Seasonal Reservation System
"In these times of staffing cuts and uncertainty, we’ll take this glimmer of hope for Mount Rainier, but the national park and its visitors deserve a more reliable experience" --…
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Blog Post
Selling Off Our Public Lands? A Line We Cannot Cross.
Congress will vote next week on U.S. House legislation that could hand over public lands next to Zion National Park to county and possibly private interests. NPCA is working to stop…
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Press Release
Backdoor public land deal advances, putting Zion and Utah public lands at risk
“Let’s call this what it is: an attempt by some members of Congress to
