Dear ,

Last year the National Park Service (NPS) welcomed millions of
visitors to parks across the country. Even during a pandemic, some of
our country's national parks experienced record-setting visitation.
Maybe you were one of those millions.

But as many of us enjoy these parks, NPS continues to struggle with
reduced funding. That means fewer rangers and other staff to take care
of the parks we all love. With a combination of underfunding and low
staff numbers our parks, climate, and visitors all suffer.

Urge Congress to bring back the jobs needed to maintain our country's
national treasures.

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With summertime approaching visitation will only continue to rise.
And that's a great thing! However, Congress needs to ensure that NPS
has the tools and resources to protect our parks, wildlife, and make
sure all those visitors have safe and enjoyable visits.

Nearly 3,500 park staff positions, or 16% of the Park Service's
staffing capacity, have been eliminated over the last decade, due to
inadequate investments by Congress.

When park staff have had to do more with less, they end up having to
multitask. In addition to their jobs, they also end up being park
maintenance workers, junior ranger wranglers, traffic controllers,
wildlife biologists, janitors, rescuers and more. This is not
sustainable for staff and could eventually cause important tasks to
fall through the cracks.

It is not just about the number of positions, but also the types of
roles needed to keep our parks healthy and safe. Park staff need
adequate funding to help protect irreplaceable resources, as well as
provide quality experiences that visitors expect and deserve.

Urge Congress to increase funding for our parks this fiscal year.

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NPS and other federal agencies have been waiting for their fiscal
year 2022 budgets for months. If Congress does not act now they risk
further staff declines and damage to our parks and climate. Their
investment is essential.

Thank you for defending our parks,

John Garder

John Garder
Senior Director, Budget & Appropriations




NPCA | 777 6th Street, NW | Suite 700 |
Washington, DC 20001 | 800.NAT.PARK | [email protected]

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