I am writing with
exciting news about our national parks! With help from national
park supporters like you over the past several months, the
National Park System has just received a significant increase in
funding for 2010. Last week, President Obama signed a $32.2
billion Interior and Environment Appropriations bill for the
2010 fiscal year. In this bill, the National Park
Service (NPS) received $2.7 billion--roughly $218 million above
the 2009 funding level!While this bill demonstrates a concerted effort by Congress and the Administration to restore our national treasures in time for the 2016 centennial of the National Park Service, this victory for national parks could not have happened without NPCA supporters like YOU.
Here are some of the highlights from the bill:
- NPS Operations received roughly $130 million above last year's funding level, which fulfills the President's pledge to increase park operations $100 million above inflation.
- The NPS portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund--a fund used to purchase critical lands now on the market for conservation and public recreation--received $126.26 million. This is an increase of $61 million over last year's level and $28 million above the President's request.
- Public-Private Partnerships, previously known as the Centennial Challenge, was funded at $15 million.
- A potentially harmful rider that would have required a public hunt to manage the growing elk population at Theodore Roosevelt National Park was removed. The rider would have overridden longstanding agency-wide policy.
- Most importantly, and beyond the numbers, the NPS is now better able to hire more rangers, fill out the authorized boundaries of many parks, enhance its ability to address the impacts of climate change on our national parks, and preserve America's Everglades, Great Lakes, and other nationally-significant ecosystems.
Thank you for your support of NPCA, for the messages you send to your leaders, and for all that you do for our parks. Working together we can, and do, make a positive difference for America's national parks.
Sincerely,
Shane Farnor
Online Advocacy Manager
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In his latest film,
You've seen his work in
nearly every issue of National Parks magazine for three
years running--from the railyards of Steamtown National Historic
Site to the waters of the Everglades and the peaks of Denali.
Now photographer Ian Shive has collected hundreds of his best
images for a new book entitled The National Parks: Our
American Landscape, and he's set aside a percentage of
the profits to benefit NPCA. An introduction from our own Tom
Kiernan accompanies essays by National Parks editors
who detail the experience of collaborating with Shive in our
Washington offices and in the field. But the photos are the real
draw, and the iconic landscapes are all here: Arches and the
Grand Canyon, Glacier and Zion, Yellowstone and Yosemite. So,
too, are the sights that many of us overlook: the pure white
gypsum of White Sand Dunes, a jellyfish floating in the Channel
Islands, a tarantula and a scorpion underfoot in Big Bend. It's
a great gift for any park lover you know, and it's not a bad way
to pick your next vacation spot, either. Through special
arrangement with the publisher, NPCA members can purchase the
book at 35% off the cover price by entering coupon code EANP0454
at 
Grand Canyon National
Park is one of the most popular destinations in North America;
experience it as few others do. Hike down to the canyon floor
where you meet expert raft guides. Each day of the next week,
you'll spend several hours floating down the Colorado through
renowned whitewater. Opt to participate in easy to strenuous
side hikes or simply rest in the beauty of the canyon along the
way. You'll also learn the geological and cultural history of
the canyon region from Park Service rangers and your NPCA
leader. For more information please call us at 800.628.7275,
email us at travel@npca.org, or go online to 
NPCA's Center for
State of the Parks recently released an assessment of the
condition of cultural and natural resources at Effigy Mounds
National Monument. The park is in northeastern Iowa and is home
to some of the nation's best examples of American Indian-built
earthen mounds, several historic structures, and significant
cultural landscapes. American Indians constructed the
mounds--some of which are in the shape of animals--sometime
during the Woodland Period (1000 B.C. to A.D. 1000). According
to this assessment, Effigy Mounds National Monument's natural
and cultural resources are in "fair" condition overall.
The National Parks
Conservation Association has launched a Twitter account! If you
use Twitter, or have friends and family who do, be sure to
follow NPCA for the latest national park news. 
Help NPCA's
Northwest office congratulate the winners of our recent photo
and essay contest! We are hosting a reception to
honor the winners at our gallery in Downtown
Seattle. Please join us to learn what we've been up
to, and to see the impressive literary and photographic talent
of our members and friends. 
Please join the National
Parks Conservation Association, and the Howard H. Baker Jr.
Center for Public Policy at the University of Tennessee, for an
interactive webcast discussion on the future of our
National Park System. Recommendations from the recently
released Second Century Commission report will be presented
and discussed, and you can
participate! 
Join national and
regional climate experts as they provide Bozeman with a
comprehensive look at what climate change will mean for
Montana. Lecture topics will include: the economic costs
of climate change, wildlife conservation in a changing climate,
and a look at climate change impacts to Yellowstone National
Park.
Celebrate Bristol Bay
wild salmon with a FREE screening of Red Gold, winner
of top honors at independent film festivals worldwide. Meet
Alaskans fighting to protect clean waters, traditional
lifestyles, and renewable resource-based economies from an
industrial gold and copper mining district. Discover why
Alaska's real treasure is Red Gold. 
Photographer Ian Shive has
walked the trails of Yosemite Valley, wandered the
railyards of Steamtown National Historic Site, snorkeled the
waters of the Everglades, and climbed the peaks of Denali to
capture images for National Parks magazine and other
publications like National Geographic,
Outside, and Time. Now he's coming to the Twin
Cities area (see details below) to talk about those experiences
and sign copies of his new book, The National Parks:
Our American Landscape (Earth Aware Editions, 224
pp., $39.95 retail). 
Wolves historically
roamed the national parks of Washington, including North
Cascades, Mount Rainier, and Olympic National Parks. The absence
of this important species has led to imbalance in the ecosystems
of these parks. There is now, however, an opportunity to help
the return of wolves to our national parks.
