FEATURED PARK: Theodore Roosevelt National Park, North Dakota
Long before Theodore Roosevelt became America's 26th president, he spent years as a rancher in the rugged lands that would later become the national park that bears his name. He grew a strong attachment to the landscape, and now the park's three distinct units cover some 70,000 acres of badlands, prairies, and forests abundant with plants and wildlife. But the area is also experiencing a new threat unknown in Roosevelt's day: an alarming rate of new oil and gas fracking operations in the region.
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Cattle Grazing in National Parks?
Many people would be surprised to hear it: There are commercial beef cattle in national parks? It’s true. More than a dozen national parks allow the practice, even though these non-native animals often chew and trample the landscape and cause pollution problems with their waste. Now, some lawmakers want to double the amount of time ranchers can lease public lands for grazing—a move that could cause more harm to these parks.
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Major Victory Will Reduce Dangerous Levels of Soot
NPCA helped win a major victory for clean air last month when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed tighter regulations on one of the most dangerous air pollutants we breathe every day: soot. The new regulations are the result of a lawsuit brought by Earthjustice on behalf of NPCA and the American Lung Association, and will not only reduce hazy air in national parks, but also will benefit human health and help prevent premature deaths.
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NPS Helps Species Recover
What do California condors, gray wolves, and black-footed ferrets have in common? The Park Service has reintroduced all of these struggling species into national parks to help them recover. Watch a moving video by NPCA's Center for Park Research about a former park superintendent who develops a bond with the wolves he helped bring back to Yellowstone—then explore our website with more information on wildlife recovery.
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New GeoStory Highlights Park Champions
The health of our national parks is directly linked to the health of the waters that surround and flow through them. We invite you to get to know 12 park champions who are restoring, conserving, and educating others about critical waterways around the country. In partnership with National Geographic, we showcase these amazing citizens in a "GeoStory"—an interactive platform that combines maps with stories and photos allowing users to explore the issues interactively.
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Giving Creative Life to Discarded Plastic
Artists Richard Lang and Judith Selby Lang have spent years collecting and categorizing trash that washes up at Point Reyes National Seashore and repurposing their finds into intriguing images. They don't just want to make an artistic statement; they want to educate people to reconsider their behaviors, inspiring positive change.
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Salazar Nominates Texas Park for International Recognition
San Antonio Franciscan Missions—which includes the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park—could become the first World Heritage Site in Texas. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar authorized its nomination last month, which would place these stunning Spanish Colonial buildings among just a handful of sites in the country receiving the distinction. NPCA helped support this nomination to recognize its extraordinary worth.
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NPCA TRIPS
ParkScapes 2013
New NPCA tours are now available. The 2013 options include nine domestic trips to nearly three dozen American national parks and an international trip to the Galápagos. Please join us in the parks!
» See Scheduled Trips
Photo: The Zion National Park Narrows, Utah © Gelyngfjell/Dreamstime
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QUOTE OF THE MONTH
"What a country chooses to save is what a country chooses to say about itself."
-Mollie Beattie, former director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
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