National Park In Peril

As you know firsthand, the national parks are suffering from government budget cuts which have resulted in their abilty to maintain and provide services within their borders. We've seen higher admission fees, reduced hours of operation and fewer employees - and those are just some of the problems the parks are dealing with of course. We as concerned citizens can let our representatives in government know we care about the parks and want action taken to prevent further deterioration of the situation in the national parks.

National Graphic Magazine has some great contact information in their October 2006 magazine for nonprofit organizations that support the national parks.

National Parks Conservation Association: Advocates for the national parks and for the National Park Service. npca.org

Natural Resources Defense Council: They have pinpointed a dozen "BioGems" - extaordinary wild places worth saving. nrdc.org

Sierra Club: Their "Take Action" program sends letters on environmental issues to members of Congress. sierraclub.org

Wilderness Society: Since 1935, preserve wild lands from oil development and protection of roadless regions. wilderness.org

U.S. National Park Service: Administers national parks, historic sites, memorials, monuments and more. Last year 137,000 volunteers donated some five million hours through the NPS Volunteers-in-Parks program. nps.gov/volunteer