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• Park Boston African American National Historic Site In the early 1800s, the Beacon Hill neighborhood of Boston was home to one of the largest communities of free African Americans in the country. Unlike other U.S. states, Massachusetts effectively outlawed slavery in its constitution in 1783, decades before the 13th Amendment abolished slavery nationwide. Boston became a thriving center for the abolitionist movement and a critical link in the Underground Railroad. The historic site interprets 15 different structures in this storied neighborhood, including two important buildings, the Abiel Smith School and the African Meeting House, which combine to make up the Museum of African American History. Other historic buildings include a school, the homes of several prominent Boston African Americans and a memorial honoring the first regiment of African American troops to serve in the Civil War.
• Kevin Grange Kevin Grange is an author and paramedic living in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. He won a 2013 Lowell Thomas Award for his National Parks magazine story, “Sacred Water.” He has worked at both Yellowstone and Yosemite and is the author of "Lights and Sirens: The Education of a Paramedic."
• Park Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail Designated as the first national water trail, the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail follows the historic routes of the English explorer’s voyages between 1607 and 1609 on the Chesapeake Bay, as well as the York, James and other rivers. Following Smith’s original maps and journals, the trail spans 3,000 miles in Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania and the District of Columbia.
• Park Bluestone National Scenic River This scenic river is named after the rugged blue limestone that lines its bed at its origin in Virginia. The park begins approximately 5 miles south of the New River Gorge National River and is managed by the same park staff. The Bluestone offers hiking, biking, hunting, fishing and camping, and bobcats, otters, bears and a variety of birds thrive in the wild area. Visitors can explore a 10.5-mile trail between the adjacent Bluestone and Pipestem Resort State Parks to enjoy portions of the river. Visitors can also see more of the river by riding an aerial tramway in Pipestem State Park.
• Park Booker T. Washington National Monument This monument commemorates the tobacco farm where one of America's most prominent African-American leaders of the late 19th and early 20th centuries was born into slavery in 1856. Washington spent his boyhood at the 207-acre estate until the Union victory in the Civil War freed his family. After the Civil War, Washington became the founder and first principal of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial School. Later as an adviser, author and orator, he spoke to the new disenfranchisement of former slaves who suffered under discriminatory Jim Crow laws enacted in the post-Reconstruction period, and he helped to fight for educational and economic advancement in the African-American community.
• NPCA at Work California's National Parks: Struggling for Clean Air It might come as a surprise that California’s crown jewel national parks — Sequoia, Kings Canyon, Joshua Tree and Yosemite — struggle with some of the dirtiest air of any parks in the nation.
• NPCA at Work Protect Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve A proposed 211-mile industrial mining access road would disrupt caribou migration, the subsistence lifestyles of rural Alaskans, and the integrity of Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve.
• Press Release BLM Resource Management Plan Misses the Mark, Puts Mesa Verde National Park at Risk Feb 2015 Statement by Vanessa Mazal, Colorado Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Lease Sale Near Great Sand Dunes National Park Temporarily Delayed Jul 2018 The Bureau of Land Management delayed the sale to allow for time to consult with Navajo Nation
• Press Release New Agreement Marks Progress Toward Preserving Lands Within Grand Teton National Park Jun 2016 At the Western Governors’ Association’s annual meeting, Interior Secretary Jewell and Wyoming Governor Matt Mead announced inroads towards completing the purchase of two State school land parcels located within Grand Teton National Park.
• Blog Post America’s First National Park Created to Protect Human History Aug 2016 | By Nicolas Brulliard In 1906, Congress established the first national park with the purpose of protecting man-made structures, not just natural features such as forests and canyons.
• Press Release National Parks Conservation Association Praises Approval of Wrangell-St. Elias Nabesna Road Plan Jan 2012 Statement by Jim Stratton, Senior Regional Director for Alaska, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Opportunity Presented to Keep Everglades National Park Fully Protected from Power Lines Dec 2015 Decision to acquire Florida Power & Light’s ecologically critical parcel within Everglades National Park could finally put an end to the threat of power lines being built inside park boundaries
• Press Release Amache National Historic Site Act Passes Senate Committee, Heads To Full Senate Consideration Nov 2021 Japanese American survivors and descendants of the Amache Incarceration site are one step closer today to preserving the area into a national park site.
• Press Release National Parks Group Applauds Congressional Passage of Huna Tlingit Traditional Gull Egg Use Act Jul 2014 Statement by Jim Stratton, Deputy Vice President of Regional Operations for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Everglades Coalition Supports State Bill that Would Provide Freshwater to Everglades National Park; Relieve Coastal Estuaries Jan 2017 Bill introduced in the Florida Senate would provide a new source of freshwater for Everglades National Park while relieving northern coastal estuaries from excessive harmful Lake Okeechobee discharges.
• Press Release National Parks Group Urge Secretary Salazar to Protect California's Only Marine Wilderness Area Nov 2012 Statement by Neal Desai, Pacific Region Associate Director, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release National Parks Group Responds to Release of Draft Long Term Experimental Management Plan for Glen Canyon Dam Jan 2016 Nearly 20 years in the making, the Department of Interior released its draft Glen Canyon Dam Long-Term Experimental and Management Plan, (LTEMP) which will impact Grand Canyon National Park.
• Press Release Senate Advances Legislation to Expand Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area Dec 2019 The Rim of the Valley Preservation Act would add stunning landscapes, critical wildlife areas, waterways and historic treasures to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. 
• Press Release It’s official! Final Plan for Biscayne National Park Signed – Implementation of Marine Reserve Set to Begin Sep 2015 Statement by Caroline McLaughlin, Biscayne Program Manager for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release National Parks Group Calls for New Legacy for Iconic Wildlife with Bison Management Plan Mar 2015 Statement by Bart Melton, Northern Rockies Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Riverside County Rejects Destructive New City Near Joshua Tree National Park Nov 2019 Riverside County Board of Supervisors unanimously rejects city proposal that threatened Joshua Tree National Park wildlife, night skies and surrounding communities.
• Press Release Parks Group Celebrates Historic Investment in Everglades National Park, Restoration Efforts Jan 2022 "Today is a triumph for one of America's oldest, wildest national parks and we are grateful to see it." -- NPCA President and CEO Theresa Pierno
• Press Release National Parks Group Supports Roundup of Illegal Cattle Grazing on Nevada's Public Lands Apr 2014 Statement by Lynn Davis, Senior Nevada Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release National Parks Group Applauds Preservation and Accessibility in Yosemite's Final Mariposa Grove Plan Oct 2013 Statement by Neal Desai, Director of Field Operations for the Pacific Region, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Historic World War II Hangars to be Restored at Gateway National Recreation Area Nov 2012 Statement by Alexander Brash, Northeast Senior Regional Director for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release National Parks Group Applauds $16 million Payment Towards the Purchase of Critical lands within Grand Teton to Protect Them from Development Dec 2012 Statement by Sharon Mader, Grand Teton Program Manager, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release Conservationists Unveil Blueprint for Protecting Wildlife and Drivers at Great Smoky Mountains National Park Jun 2022 New research from NPCA and Wildlands Network identifies wildlife hotspots in and around Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- and how to protect them.
• Press Release National Park Group Calls Joshua Tree Expansion Study a Step Forward but with Lingering Development Concerns Jul 2015 Statement by Seth Shteir, Senior Desert Field Representative for the National Parks Conservation Association
• Blog Post The Most-Visited National Park Site in Alaska Sep 2017 | By Jennifer Errick Summer is the traditional tourist season in Alaska. One national park site in the state attracts far more recreational visitors than any other. Can you guess which one?
• Blog Post 2 Million Gallons of Pig Waste Next to a National River? What a Load of Hogwash! Jun 2013 | By Emily Jones NPCA and its advocates are fighting an industrial confined animal feeding operation designed to hold thousands of hogs just 6 miles upstream from America's first national river.
• Press Release Chemical Spill Closes Sections of Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore Apr 2017 Chemical spill closes three beaches at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore
• Blog Post An 'Elk National Park'? Dec 2019 | By Nicolas Brulliard More than a century ago, conservationists set out to protect a large swath of land to save a fast-disappearing herd of Roosevelt elk — and nearly named a national park after them.
• Blog Post A National Park with Its Own Mountain Range Sep 2022 | By Linda Coutant Among the 63 national parks, Big Bend is the only one that encompasses an entire mountain range — the Chisos Mountains.
• Press Release National Parks Group Supports Montana Wildlife Commission's Decision to Cease Wolf Hunting Around Yellowstone Dec 2012 Statement by Tim Stevens, Northern Rockies Regional Director, National Parks Conservation Association
• Press Release National Parks Conservation Association y Nature Valley anuncian nueva serie de videos que celebra los espacios naturales y las historias que ellos inspiran Jan 2023 National Parks Conservation Association y Nature Valley fomentan la protección permanente de lugares que honran a personas e historias personales que han influido en la historia de nuestros terrenos públicos.
• Blog Post Trading Desk Time for Desert Time at Saguaro National Park Mar 2012 | By Shane Farnor At NPCA, we are often fortunate enough to attend staff trainings, retreats, and other work-related gatherings in or near national parks. Since my job involves lots of time sitting at a desk with a computer, I look forward to these opportunities.
• NPCA at Work Working with Veterans to Protect National Parks NPCA’s veterans program meaningfully engages the military community — including veterans, active duty, reservists and military families — to support national parks through service projects and advocacy.
• NPCA at Work Working for Clean Air in our National Parks Air pollution harms national park visitors’ health, clouds scenic views and alters our climate. And the solutions needed to resolve these problems are largely the same – we must clean up polluting fossil fuel facilities, industries, and vehicles. With your voice, we can make a difference and achieve cleaner air and a healthier climate.
• Report Center for State of the Parks: Big Hole National Battlefield Current overall conditions of Big Hole National Battlefield’s known cultural and natural resources rated “fair” scores of 70 and 74, respectively. This report contains descriptions of park resources and summaries of resource conditions.
• Report Center for State of the Parks: Assateague Island National Seashore Current overall conditions of Assateague’s natural resources rated a “fair” score of 75 out of 100. Overall conditions of the park’s known cultural resources rated a score of 58 out of 100, indicating “poor” conditions.
• Report Center for State of the Parks: Gateway National Recreation Area Using NPCA’s Center for State of the Parks comprehensive methodology, current overall conditions of Gateway’s known natural resources scored 53 out of 100, which is a “poor” rating. Overall conditions of the park’s known cultural resources scored 46 out of a possible 100, indicating “poor” conditions.
• Report Best Practices in Friends Groups and National Parks As budgets have grown tighter in recent years, partnerships have become the way for parks to accomplish more with less. Most parks look to their Friends Group for access to resources that would otherwise be unavailable.
• Park Blue Ridge Parkway Extending more than 450 miles between Shenandoah National Park in Virginia and Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee, the Blue Ridge Parkway is a trip through the history of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the people who have lived here for hundreds of years. This meandering road ties together diverse landscapes and conserves architecture, industry and cultural traditions associated with the mountain communities of southern Appalachia. Visitors can while away an afternoon listening to traditional music at the Blue Ridge Music Center, learn about the life of early settlers at Mabry Mill, or peruse traditional arts and crafts at the Folk Art Center, among other adventures.
• Seth Kantner Seth Kantner is a commercial fisherman, wildlife photographer, and author of Shopping for Porcupine and the national bestselling novel, Ordinary Wolves. His writing and photographs have appeared in the New York Times, Outside, Alaska, Reader’s Digest, and other magazines and anthologies. He lives with his wife and daughter in northwest Alaska.
• Michael Lanza Michael Lanza is the Northwest editor of Backpacker and creator of TheBigOutside.com. This article is adapted from his new book Before They’re Gone: A Family’s Year-Long Quest to Explore America’s Most Endangered National Parks, published by Beacon Press.
• Report A History Timeline of Wolf Buffers from Denali Citizen's Council A history timeline of wolf buffers from Denali Citizen's Council
• NPCA at Work Keep Crater Lake Wild A wilderness designation will preserve Crater Lake, its wildlife and its outdoor recreation opportunities forever. It's time to give this iconic park the protection it deserves.
• Dave Santucci Former Next Generation Advisory Council Dave Santucci is one of the founding members of NPCA's Next Generation Advisory Council, a member of NPCA's Northeast Regional Council, and a member of NPCA's former Center for Park Management Advisory Council.
• Staff Laura Atchison Senior Director of Board Relations Laura Atchison has been with NPCA since 2005 and is currently Senior Director of Board Relations.

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