Want to Rescue our National Parks? It’s Not as Hard as You May Think
Why are parks so chronically underfunded? Even when the National Park Service is America’s most popular federal agency and over 330 million people visited NPS sites in 2024?
Sadly, much of the problem is simple, yet challenging to solve. In the congressional funding process, national parks are often lumped together with several other federal agencies charged with regulating extractive industries like mining, oil and gas drilling, livestock grazing, timber cutting, and irrigation. The members of congress overseeing these agencies therefore attract lots of attention from some of the largest industries in the world, who of course have lots and lots of money to spend on influencing votes. As you might expect, these committees are stacked with representatives from states with keen interests in obtaining resources from public lands. In rooms filled with groups and individuals pressing for more drilling, logging, mining, grazing, and water, the needs of the national parks can be easily under appreciated.
This is unfortunate because for every dollar the federal government spends on operating national parks, local economies receive $10-$15 in tourism revenue. The national park gateway businesses that benefit just aren’t as well organized as the oil, gas, mining, and timber groups.
Also bear in mind that less than 1/15th of one percent of the federal budget goes to the NPS each year.
Fortunately, because of Americans’ ever growing passions for national parks, we can definitely win the fight for better support for our parks. Our parks host more visitors than the NFL, MLB, NBA, U.S. Soccer, and stock car racing combined. National park fans, it’s time to MAKE SOME NOISE!
Spend one hour per month contacting your elected officials and letting them know why you value national parks and to not expect your vote in the future if they don’t significantly increase park funding. If there is one thing we know about our elected officials, they care about being reelected.
Become a park volunteer
Generously support your favorite parks’ friends groups and nonprofit foundations. They have even more flexibility and efficiency than the NPS to help protect our parks. And your money is tax deductible. Be especially generous with the endowments these groups have created. Endowment money can usually be used to directly hire more NPS staff.
Support other nonprofit park partners, those that help with education, science, historic preservation, and visitor services. They have names like “Institute,” “Association,” and “Society,” and you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck with these highly efficient and effective orgs. You can find their links on your parks’ website. You can also support them by shopping at the stores in park visitor centers and attending these organizations’ wonderful programs and special events.
Support the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit fundraiser for the entire NPS.
Encourage your family and friends to also support the above. Does rich uncle Frank really need to give ALL of his IRA to his alma mater? Even if he did have a lot of fun there?
Remember the above in your will and estate planning. You won’t miss the money, and your friends and descendants will be forever grateful and very much impressed.
Keep enjoying your national parks. “They reflect us at our best rather than our worst.”—Wallace Stegner.