Privately owned land within the congressionally designated boundaries of America’s national parks creates gaping holes that shatter the integrity of individual parks and the system as a whole, and make it more difficult and expensive for the Park Service to protect wildlife and the parks’ natural and cultural treasures. Our national heritage is at risk.
Commitment to the idea that our national parks are “the best idea America ever had,” requires diligent protection of these national treasures against all threats. Incompatible development on private property within park boundaries results in resource fragmentation and seriously degrades the quality of our National Park System. But this crisis has a solution.
The Land and Water Conservation Fund is the immediately available, yet underused source for funding the land acquisition needs of the National Park Service. By acting now to complete public ownership of our parks, we improve the management capacity of the Park Service, consolidate public ownership of critical lands, and help make the park system what it needs to be in time for the beginning of its second century.
Our national parks—our nation’s heritage—deserve nothing less.
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General
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Issues
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Blog Post
Here Today, Gone Tomorrow
The erasing of people, science and history at our national parks is in full swing, and NPCA is investigating and will hold the administration accountable. Here’s what you should know…
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Blog Post
The U.S. National Park That Bid for the Olympics
The 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo officially begin Friday, Feb. 6. It’s hard to imagine such a massive event ever taking place in a national park,…
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Blog Post
Why Draining Mojave’s Aquifer is a Really Bad Idea
Pulling water from the Mojave Desert would damage prized national parkland and deepen water insecurity for communities. Here are frequently asked questions about the latest attempt by Cadiz Inc. to…
