Hello Everyone,
It’s officially spring, and I have spotted some California poppies sprouting up in the corners of the Arizona desert. I don’t know if that indicates another super bloom, but I am hopeful!
As the blossoms open and the new season brings warmth and excitement to our partner parks, we continue to work as a team to love and support these special places. Whether big or small, each park offers a unique visitor experience. I am grateful to be able to work alongside such a passionate team of professionals in a shared commitment to protecting and enhancing this experience, now and for all time.
Now, for some important organizational updates!
National Park Foundation’s Hill Day, 2024
Christine Horvath, vice president and chief financial officer, and I attended the National Park Foundation’s Hill Day in Washington DC. Since 2014, this event has served as the foundation’s signature advocacy event on Capitol Hill. On February 7, 55 partner organizations jointly conducted two hundred meetings across Capitol Hill to raise awareness for the National Park Service (NPS). We met with five members of Congress from Arizona and New Mexico, discussing the NPS housing crisis, the success of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA), the importance of renewing the GAOA in 2025, and appropriations for the National Park Foundation. Additionally, we had time to share the economic and visitor impact of our WNPA partner parks. We were able to raise the visibility of our organization and our mission with congressional members, as well as within the network of mostly nonprofit philanthropic organizations that support public lands. While in DC, we took the opportunity to meet with the Washington DC NPS office and Tom Medema, NPS associate director for interpretation, education, and volunteers. And I finally had a few moments to chat with NPS Director Chuck Sams. It was an amazing networking and advocacy event!
Public Lands Alliance (PLA) Conference and Trade Show
Annually, PLA hosts the largest convention and trade show in the public lands space. This year’s education themes were Health and Healing on Public Lands, Inclusive Story Telling, Community-Led Stewardship, and Adapting and Thriving in Uncertain Times. There were several WNPA highlights during this engaging and enlightening conference. WNPA sponsored a general session, “Nature Is Not Only Healing, It’s Transformative,” with panel speakers discussing wellness and the outdoors. Our partner Pitt Grewe from AllTrails was a panel speaker, and WNPA received quite a few accolades for our work last year with AllTrails. Kindley Walsh Lawlor, board director, was on a panel discussing models for public-private partnerships in California with Golden Gate Conservancy. WNPA’s associate director for learning and development, Lindsey Stone, conducted a session: “Train Them So They’ll Stay: Build a Strong Workforce Using a Modern Approach to Teaching and Learning.” Last, but certainly not least, WNPA received the Publication of the Year Award for our book, White Sands National Park.
California Partner Park Visits
It was wonderful to spend time in our California partner parks. Following the PLA convention, we headed up to Whiskeytown National Recreation Area. Due to its more remote location, this site isn’t visited often, and our WNPA and NPS staff appreciated the time. I can only imagine how busy the park gets in the summer with all the hiking, fishing, boating, and water recreation. We were lucky to miss the big winter storm coming in.
The next day, we headed south through the rolling green hills of vineyards and produce farms to Pinnacles National Park. The weather was much warmer—which was a relief. Staff were re-fixturing the park stores, and we spent a lot of time with the NPS staff. A truly unique park with incredible landscapes and rugged formations, Pinnacles is a hidden gem close and accessible to urban cities. We snuck off for a short hike to the Balconies Cave, which required headlamps, water shoes, and a sense of adventure. It was absolutely stunning!
We closed out our park visits at John Muir National Historic Site and Eugene O’Neill National Historic Site, enjoying tours of the homes with the NPS and WNPA staff. Such great sites are located in the urban setting outside San Francisco. Our staff and NPS partners are always accommodating during our park visits. I know it can be a disruption to a normal operating day, and I appreciate the time we spend together to connect and learn more about the park.
Tucson Festival of Books
The Tucson Festival of Books (TFOB) is the third-largest book festival in the United States, with a record 140 thousand visitors in 2024. WNPA has been sponsoring this event since 2011, and our footprint with The National Park Experience Pavilion, the National Parks Store Tent, the authors’ stage and panel, and the Hubbell Trading Post Tent is a major draw for visitors, especially families. This year, we attended the Authors’ Dinner with David Lipsky, author of The Parrot and the Igloo: Climate and the Science of Denial. The conversation was robust and lively! At the festival on Saturday and Sunday, two thousand kids participated in a WNPA Junior Ranger activity, and each received a Junior Ranger backpack filled with outdoor essentials. We also hosted several author panels. I had the honor of moderating the panel “Unearthing Legacies,” with Shelby J. Tisdale, author of No Place for a Lady, and Melissa Sevigny, author of Brave the Wild River. The authors inspired us with insights about extraordinary women—pioneers who broke down barriers in botany and archaeology, forever changing how we look at landscapes, ecosystems, and cultures. It was a fun conversation! The weekend was a wonderful and successful event with record retail sales and Park Protector membership signups. It was truly a collaborative effort and I want to give a huge “thank you” to the whole TFOB team.
Congratulations to our Awards, Grants, and Scholarships Winners
Award Winners
WNPA had the honor of selecting and announcing the recipients of our awards, research grants, and scholarships.
For his 40 years of service and innovation in national park research, Robert J. Steidl, PhD, has won the 2023 Emil W. Haury Lifetime Achievement Award. Steidl’s expansive work with national parks will continue to shape and foster new generations of park leaders and stewards for years to come.
For his decades of influential work with the NPS, Dr. Michael Soukup has won the 2023 Edward B. Danson Award. As one of the most influential leaders of the NPS, Soukup has helped shape the development of sustainable natural resource stewardship programs and education.
Scholarship Winners
In addition to these prestigious award winners, I am thrilled and proud that WNPA also awarded three recipients with the Ernest Quintana and Marty Sterkel Education Scholarship: Kelsey Carlson, Paola Hinojosa, and Carla Navarrete.
I would also like to congratulate Lisa Brickner, WNPA’s controller, on winning a Pepe Marcos-Iga Leadership Scholarship, an opportunity only available to active WNPA staff who demonstrate outstanding leadership and a commitment to lifelong learning. Congratulations, Lisa! We are currently still accepting applications and I encourage interested staff members to learn more and apply for this scholarship so that we can support your continued professional development.
We also funded six important scientific research projects, investing in deep cultural, historical, and ecological understanding in our partner parks at Aztec Ruins National Monument, Bandelier National Monument, Big Thicket National Preserve, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Coronado National Memorial, and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument.
Congratulations WNPA Board Director Howard Levitt
The Environmental Traveling Companions (ETC) is recognizing WNPA’s board director Howard Levitt with the 2024 Accessible Wilderness Ed-venture Award for his three decades of service as the ETC’s Board Chair. His dedication, commitment, and efforts have made a difference in the lives and experiences of many who would not have those opportunities.
Congratulations WNPA Board Director John Koprowski
WNPA’s board director John Koprowski published a recent article, “Finding the Purple Bike: To Build Partnerships for Conservation, We Must Connect People to Place,” in the March/April edition of The Wildlife Professional, The Wildlife Society’s exclusive magazine. He eloquently explores the significance of the connections researchers make with people and places as they seek to make a difference: “We are motivated—imbued with passion to conserve and steward—when we are connected to a place beyond a pixel on a satellite image or an intersection on our GPS.” This wisdom will continue to shape future researchers and advocates for generations to come.
Women’s History Month
March is Women’s History Month and I wanted to take a moment to celebrate, recognize, and thank the many brilliant women who have made a difference in our national parks. If you want to learn a little more about some of these remarkable individuals, NPS has several resources that help preserve and tell stories ranging from well-known figures like Rosie the Riveter to the inspiring narratives of our unsung heroes.
I want to thank everyone for contributing every day to the beauty and enrichment of the national park experience. As we progress toward our strategic goals and initiatives, I am grateful to be on this journey with each of you.
Be well,
Marie Buck, WNPA President and CEO
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