Innholdsfortegnelse for The 2025 National Parks Edition i The Goodnewspaper

Our country’s national parks have long been called “America’s best idea.” There’s even a Ken Burns documentary by that exact name, and its description sums up the establishment of the national parks quite well: “An idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: That the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.” So, naturally, when the Trump administration — under the guidance of Elon Musk, former head of the Department of Government Efficiency — eliminated the jobs of over 1,000 National Park Service rangers and U.S. Forest Service workers in February 2025, it felt pretty un-American. This move, which precipitated budget cuts, staffing shortages, and proposals to sell chunks of public lands to the…

In the wake of funding cuts and mass staff firings at national parks, over 60 major businesses joined together to rebuke proposed funding rollbacks and prevent the large-scale sale of public lands. In an address to Congress, the Brands for Public Lands coalition reminded lawmakers that their businesses “contribute to the $1.2 trillion outdoor economy” and that they had a vested interest in keeping public lands “publicly owned and accessible for generations to come.” “A priceless and irreplaceable resource that can’t be reduced to a line item on a balance sheet, our public lands are intrinsically tied to the life-defining pursuits of climbing, skiing, and mountain sports that our company was built to serve,” Neil Fiske, the CEO of Black Diamond Equipment, expressed in a shared statement. “We are proud…

Kawuneeche Valley, located in the western part of Rocky Mountain National Park, has seen better days. An overpopulation of overgrazing moose has forced beavers out of their natural habitat, and the loss of natural beaver-built water systems has led to extensive degradation. Jeremy Shaw, a research scientist at Colorado State University, told the National Parks Conservation Association that the region is “too far gone” for beavers to bounce back on their own. That’s why he’s leading a team of “human beavers” to create 29 man-made dams that mimic beaver behavior. “We’re trying to jump-start it,” Shaw said. “Our play here is to give them the best habitat we can, and then hopefully they build up their population.” Beaver-based restoration techniques first popped up in the early 2000s, when scientists in…

Listening to the sounds of nature is universally enjoyable, but it can also be a tool for maintaining healthy national park ecosystems. In partnership with the National Park Service, Pennsylvania State University leads the Protected Areas Research Collaborative Listening Lab. Through the lab, scientists set up microphones in national parks and send recorded sounds back to students at the lab, who analyze and inventory them. Their findings are then sent back to park officials to help with ecosystem and visitor management and improving infrastructure like trails and transportation systems. “With help from this lab, national parks can get a better understanding of what is happening in their areas from an acoustics perspective and what has been happening,” Andrew Barnard, a Penn State professor of acoustics and engineering, said in a…

Classically trained as a landscape painter, Mariah Reading (@mariahreading on Instagram) realized that using new canvases and materials was harming the environments she loved to depict in her work. Pivoting to a “zero-waste practice,” she started collecting litter during her cross-country travels to the country’s national parks. From discarded helmets and leather gloves to plastic boxes and even a folding chair, she uses found objects as her canvas, painting protected landscape environments on their surfaces and photographing them against their real-life references. As an Artist in Residence at Denali, Zion, Guadalupe Mountains, and Acadia National Parks, Reading has expanded her body of work right from these park sites. She also volunteers as an Arts in the Parks coordinator, leading conservation workshops and creative curriculum for students of all ages. She’s…

“OUR COMMON GROUND: A HISTORY OF AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS” by John D. Leshy tells the story of how the U.S. government came to create its public lands, through political consensus not often seen in the country’s history. The book offers a success story for government, education, conservation, and more, and acts as an essential primer for anyone who loves the beauty of America. “GRAND CANYON FOR SALE: PUBLIC LANDS VS. PRIVATE INTERESTS IN THE ERA OF CLIMATE CHANGE” by Stephen Nash uses the Grand Canyon to illustrate what a future without public lands would look like. Nash uses on-the-ground reporting and scientific research to make the case for climate action and wildlife conservation to safeguard these important places for years to come. “OUR NATIONAL FORESTS: STORIES FROM AMERICA’S MOST IMPORTANT…

“THIS LAND” is a short documentary film featuring runner and advocate Faith E. Briggs. Following Briggs as she runs 150 miles through three national monuments, viewers meet a diverse set of companions who adeptly explain what is at stake for the country’s public lands. Available to stream for free via thislanddoc.com. “PUBLIC TRUST: THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA’S PUBLIC LANDS” by Patagonia Films is a feature-length documentary led by investigative journalists highlighting three land-based conflicts — and the heroic activists who are defending these lands from corrupt interests — to make a clear argument for protecting public lands. Available to stream for free via patagonia.com/films/public-trust. “UNDERSTORY: A JOURNEY INTO THE TONGASS” is a 40-minute documentary that follows three women on a 350-mile expedition through Alaska’s Tongass National Forest. On this journey,…

Imagine if every time you ticked a chore off on a to-do list, you earned a digital credit. Washing the dishes, doing the laundry, hitting the gym — ding, ding, ding. Every task you completed was another drop in a digital bucket, and it all went towards a worthy cause: planting trees in the real world. It’s a dream that two teens, Eshaan Shetty and Thiago Sardenberg, turned into a reality last summer when they launched a productivity app called Sapling. Beyond helping users work through their to-do list, this app gives back, too. For every 20 tasks completed, a tree is purchased through the National Forest Foundation, which acts as a bridge between the public and the 193 million acres managed by the U.S. Forest Service. Since 1992, the…

In a recent report, the U.S. Department of the Interior reported that the National Park Service generated 415,000 jobs and contributed more than $55.6 billion to the nation’s economy in 2023. That same year, the NPS received $3.6 billion from the federal fiscal budget, meaning that the agency brought in 15 times more in revenue than it received in government spending in 2023 alone. “This report illustrates the significant economic benefits national parks provide to nearby communities and the U.S. economy, and the value of our work to safeguard these public lands in the wake of the climate crisis, upgrade visitor experiences, and invest in park infrastructure and staff,” former U.S. Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland said in a statement. And it’s not just national parks that are good…

GOOD Sign a petition through the National Parks Conservation Association to protect parks staff from further funding cuts and pressure elected officials to take a stand. Visit: npca.org/advocacy. BETTER Buy an annual national park pass to enjoy the parks without paying entrance fees and day-use fees. These passes also serve as a way to fund and protect national parks. Visit: nps.gov/planyourvisit BEST Donate directly to the nonprofits that help fund these irreplaceable agencies: National Park Foundation (give.nationalparks.org) and National Forest Foundation (support.nationalforests.org).…

GOOD Learn about the endangered and threatened species you may encounter during a national park visit. Use the National Park Service’s species index to search for animals by park: irma.nps.gov/NPSpecies. BETTER Listen to the Conservation Diaries, an official National Park Service podcast that highlights the rangers, scientists, and experts leading conservation efforts in the parks. Available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. BEST Respect native wildlife and keep your distance. Most parks require visitors to stand 25 yards away from all wildlife, but check your park’s regulations before you go at nps.gov.…

Along with their advocacy and stewardship of the natural environment, national parks are also hubs of cultural heritage. This manifests in 50 artist-in-residency programs at park sites across the country, inviting artists to reside in the parks and create projects inspired by the environment. Whether creating from a remote wilderness cabin at Denali National Park in Alaska or a sleek studio overlooking Weir Farm National Historic Site in Connecticut, AIR programs vary between different National Park Service sites when it comes to funding and logistics. The program in Acadia National Park, for instance, was founded in 1993. Since 2023, the program has been funded entirely through donations and proceeds from sales in the park’s gift shops. Acadia’s residencies typically last two to four weeks, with artistic disciplines spanning from textiles,…

While national parks don’t need too much PR to assemble a fanbase — the National Park Service saw a record-breaking 331.9 million recreation visits in 2024 alone — they are only one piece of a vast network of federal public lands in the U.S. In fact, nearly 40% of the United States is public land — equating to more than 600 million acres of land and water — supported by taxpayers and managed by federal, state, local, and tribal governments. Public lands include the famous national parks and preserves, as well as national forests, wildlife refuges, conservation areas, wilderness areas, national monuments, historic sites, battlefields and memorials, wild rivers and lakeshores, national trails, and national recreation areas. All U.S. public lands are the ancestral lands of Indigenous people and tribal…

Yellowstone National Park is the country’s first national park, established in 1872. At the time, wild gray wolves roamed the land, and fossil records show the species’ presence in the region dating back thousands of years. According to Jeff Reed, a biolinguistics expert, when wolves howl to one another, it essentially means: “Here I am; where are you?” They speak to signal their territory. Yellowstone’s early park managers lacked an understanding of ecosystems, viewing these wolves only as destructive predators in the early 20th century. Overzealous hunting practices meant that by the 1940s, wolf packs were nearly extinct in the Yellowstone area, as well as the lower 48 states of the U.S. Although wolf populations began to rebound around the 1990s thanks to reintroduction programs, conservation efforts, and responsible hunting…

On February 14, 2025, the Trump administration — under the direction of Elon Musk, who headed the Department of Government Efficiency — fired 1,000 National Park Service employees and 3,400 U.S. Forest Service employees as a means of “cutting federal spending.” These job losses represent about 10% of the U.S. Forest Service workforce and about 5% of the NPS workforce. About 500 seasonal NPS employees were reinstated after the initial cuts. However, as of the publishing of this story, proposed cuts could still reduce the annual NPS budget by hundreds of millions, through appropriation shifts, cuts to funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, or the elimination of promised grants. This could jeopardize even more jobs and programs. Mikayla Moors was a park ranger in Rocky Mountain National Park and a…

Last year, the Lakota People’s Law Project launched a first-of-its-kind program, The Sacred Defense National Parks and Monuments Initiative, which encourages visitors to leave a “10 to 20% tip” for the tribal communities whose ancestral homelands are located within national parks. Chase Iron Eyes, the director of the Lakota People’s Law Project, told CNN Traveler that the initiative directly benefits the Native communities that “are still struggling to heal” from the compounded traumas of forced removal and land dispossession. “When we saw the gap in what people know about the real history of the national parks and monuments, and when we realized how hard it is for people to compensate the tribes for traveling to their land, we wanted to build something that bridged that gap,” Iron Eyes explained. In…

When it comes to iconic animals that call the 63 national parks home, bison, black bears, and bald eagles probably come to mind first. But Cape Cod National Seashore has been hard at work restoring an underrated species in the National Park Service: the humble horseshoe crab. Despite its name, horseshoe crabs are not crabs, but rather 445 million-year-old arthropods that serve as a vital food source for countless turtles, birds, and fish on the Atlantic Coast. “They look like trouble, but they’re not,” Lawrence Niles, who co-founded the Horseshoe Crab Recovery Coalition, told the National Parks Conservation Association. The coalition has tasked itself with saving the “living fossil” species, which has survived five of Earth’s extinction-level events. Its population has recently declined, though, because of overharvesting and overuse by…

Since 2023, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation’s “Outdoors for Everyone” initiative has helped disabled state and national park visitors fully enjoy recreational activities. First, the program focused on making activities like walking, hiking, and trails accessible for wheelchair users in state and national parks. Then, they expanded to include water accessibility, so visitors can get the full experience from pools, beaches, and other water programs. The foundation created a resource map that identifies locations with accommodations like adaptive kayaks, ramps, wheelchair-accessible beaches, and more. It also added an information specialist, who answers calls with questions about how to find accessible outdoor excursions. “The National Park Service wants everyone to have an equal opportunity to benefit from outdoor recreation on public lands,” Jeremy Buzzell, of the National Park Service Accessibility…

GOOD Learn and practice Leave No Trace principles whenever you visit the outdoors. The 7 Principles framework helps people practice minimum impact whenever they spend time. lnt.org/why/7-principles BETTER Donate to Leave No Trace (lnt.org), Keep America Beautiful (kab.org), or the National Park Foundation (nationalparks.org) to support cleanup and stewardship initiatives in park sites and public lands nationwide. BEST When visiting a national park, pick up trash and log it in the TrashBlitz app. Your cleanup data will track litter to help experts create solutions that keep parks clean. 5gyres.org/plasticfreeparks…

01 “You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World” by Ada Limón — In a new anthology from the national poet laureate, Limón shares poems from her “You Are Here” poetry project in national parks, as well as unpublished works from notable poets who write about the natural world. 02 Great Falls Park Beaver Crochet Pattern — One of many NPS-provided crochet patterns, this digital tutorial invites nature lovers to grab a hook and yarn and make a new friend. Local to Virginia’s Potomac River, beavers are vital to the ecosystem. nps.gov/articles/000/beaver-crochet-pattern.htm 03 “Our Common Nature” by Yo-Yo Ma — A series of recordings, essays, and photographs from world-renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma’s exploration of public lands, this ode to nature supports climate foundation EarthPercent. And it’s truly delightful. yo-yoma.com/our-common-nature/…

EMMA DENDLER (@THESIMPLEENVIRONMENTALIST) uses her platform to welcome followers into a world of imperfect activism for the planet. She shares helpful and accessible guides to take action for national forests, parks, and all public lands, and intentionally includes disabled and other marginalized voices in her efforts. ALEX HARAUS (@ALEX.HARAUS) empowers people to take action for nature. Based in Colorado, the environmental educator teaches his hundreds of thousands of followers more about public lands, federal policy, and how individuals can make a big difference. He also organizes local protests and meetups to mobilize nature lovers like him. NELSON HOLLAND (@FATBLACKANDGETTINIT) may have started as an outdoorsy social media vlogger, but his platform has grown to encompass all kinds of activism. From public lands advocacy and conservation efforts to providing practical tips…

Shenandoah National Park employee Dale Meyerhoeffer is a biological technician who specializes in forest health. So when invasive insects called hemlock woolly adelgids decimated the park’s dense forests — and rapidly killed 95% of the park’s eastern hemlock trees in the process — Meyerhoeffer knew he had to take urgent action to preserve the 30,000 hemlocks left standing. Teaming up with Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Meyerhoeffer procured and released a species of host-specific, predatory beetles to target the invasive insect, avoiding reliance on pesticide treatments. Thanks to his hard work, he managed to save the local tree species from dying out completely. In December 2024, he was a recipient of the Shenandoah National Park Director’s Awards for Excellence in Natural Resource Management. “I was honored to receive this…