National Parks Conservation Association

Yesterday our country lost a conservation legend and one of the greatest presidents national park advocates have ever known: former President Jimmy Carter. A small-town peanut farmer turned President of the United States worked with Congress and advocates like NPCA to protect more than 56 million acres of land in Alaska. In 1978, he signed the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) into law, creating 10 new national parks and preserves, including Wrangell-St. Elias, which is now our country’s largest national park. President Carter signed a total of 39 national park sites into law, including ones dedicated to America’s diverse history such as Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site (later Historical Park) in Georgia, Boston African American National Historic Site in Massachusetts, and Women’s Rights National Historical Park in New York. He was a noted champion of urban national parks, designating the now-famous Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, both of which remain paragons of park accessibility for Americans in cities. In his 1988 memoir, “An Outdoor Journal,” President Carter wrote, “It is good to realize that if love and peace can prevail on earth, and if we can teach our children to honor nature’s gifts, the joys and beauties of the outdoors will be here forever.” NPCA's President and CEO Theresa Pierno reflects on President Carter's lasting impact on national parks on our blog. #PresidentCarter #NationalParkNews #ProtectOurParks #JimmyCarter

It's #ShutdownWatch2024 🔔 National parks across the country are waiting on vital disaster relief, but Congress only has a few hours left to pass a continuing resolution to extend federal funding. If they fail, the federal government will shut down. NPCA CEO and President Theresa Pierno spoke to the New York Times about what the looming shutdown means for parks: “If Congress is unable to do its job and fund our government, the National Park Service must do what’s necessary to protect our most treasured places, which could mean closing their gates. “If that happens, parks could lose over half a million dollars every single day they are closed, thousands of park staff would be furloughed, and local economies that rely on park visitors could take a hit, only days before the holiday season.” #NationalParkNews #GovernmentShutdown #ProtectOurParks

"WRDA keeps the momentum going on park projects that cannot afford to wait. This law ensures that our one-of-a-kind national parks are ready for the millions of annual visitors that come from all around the world to boat, hike, and see stunning wildlife within their borders." - NPCA's Chad Lord #WaterResourcesDevelopmentAct #NationalParks #ParkNews #ParkAdvocate #ProtectOurParks

Huge park funding news: Congress just introduced a bill investing $2.3 billion in national park disaster relief. If passed, the bill would fund repairs at 12+ park sites hit by natural disasters over the past 18 months, including Acadia and Blue Ridge Parkway. If passed, the bill will fund repairs for badly damaged infrastructure at more than a dozen national park sites and support local economies that rely on them to the tune of $26 billion in annual visitor spending. NPCA and national park advocates across the country sounded the alarm, and Congress delivered. Congress must pass this critical bill l to meet the urgency of these intensifying disasters’ effect on national parks, America’s most beloved and unifying places. #ParkFunding #DisasterRelief #NationalParkNews #ClimateChange

National parks not only hold our natural resources, but our cultural resources too. From enhancing visitor experience with storytelling and artwork exhibits at the new Stonewall National Monument Visitor Center, to working with the local Marfa community on the launch of Blackwell Historic Site, to defending historic Jamestown from the construction of a massive transmission line over the Jamestown River, we at the National Parks Conservation Association are diligently protecting America’s history and culture from threats, while ensuring stories and artifacts that reflect American experiences from all walks of life are preserved and shared in perpetuity. Be a part of this continuous story and help us Protect America’s Legacy so national parks can thrive for the next 100 years: https://bit.ly/49A78Kn

Please join us in welcoming the Frances Perkins National Monument to the Park Service! The Monument is the 13th national park site to honor women's contributions, and in a conversation with USA Today NPCA's Kristen Brengel spoke about women getting the recognition they deserve: https://lnkd.in/dcXjwMr6 #ParkForPerkins #NationalParkNews #WomensHistory #FrancesPerkins IMAGE TEXT: Frances Perkins, to many people, was a buried history. Today changes that. It’s also a reminder that we need to do our homework and not let these women go without the recognition they deserve.

Parks and communities have suffered unprecedented damage from natural disasters exacerbated by the effects of climate change. Timely disaster aid funding is critical to their repair and recovery. #NationalParks #ParkNews #ParkAdvocate #ProtectOurParks

BREAKING: In a historic move for labor rights, women’s history, and social justice, President Biden is set to designate the Frances Perkins National Monument. The site honors the first woman in a presidential cabinet and a trailblazing labor rights activist – and the reason we have Social Security, minimum wage, a 40-hour workweek, and so much more. Frances Perkins’s leadership radically improved the lives of workers, and now her story has a permanent home in the National Park Service. This is only the 13th national park site dedicated to honoring women, but we know it won’t be the last! NPCA is proud to work with the Frances Perkins Center in Maine to make sure Perkins’s story is told. Later this morning. NPCA will join the White House, Acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland at the Department of Labor Building bearing Perkins’s name in Washington, DC More here: https://lnkd.in/ednQHzvP #FrancesPerkins #ParkForPerkins #FutureParks #NationalParkNews #LaborRights #SocialJustice #NewDeal

Have you heard about the America the Beautiful Act? The bipartisan act would provide critical infrastructure funding for national parks across the country to the tune of $11.2 billion over eight years, building on the sweeping impact of the Great American Outdoors Act. From NPCA's CEO and President, Theresa Pierno: “Our parks are not something we should ever take for granted. These places are worth protecting with all our power. The America the Beautiful Act is a big step, and we look forward to working with Congress to extend this funding to fix more national parks, so we can leave a legacy that our parks deserve.” Join in NPCA in urging Congress to pass the America the Beautiful Act and invest in our national parks! #FundOurParks #ParkFunding #FixOurParks #AmericaTheBeautiful #GAOA #ParkNews #ParkAdvocate #ProtectOurParks

Fighting the impacts of climate change on national parks = Inflation Reduction Act Repairing deferred maintenance project at national parks = Great American Outdoors Act Road repair and transit systems that better protect wildlife = Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 If you’ve been to a national park, you’ve seen and felt the impact of these important pieces of park funding legislation. With proper funding, national parks sites can be fully staffed, address critical maintenance, address climate change impacts, protect wildlife and much more. We at the National Parks Conservation Association, and our members and supporters have helped secure every piece of legislation mentioned at the beginning of this post. Join us for the next campaign and help us Protect America’s Legacy so national parks can thrive for the next 100 years: https://bit.ly/3AQzC7o