Western National Parks Announces 2025–2026 Award Honorees and Grant Recipients
Awards, grants, and scholarships honor public lands champions, present and future
Western National Parks (WNP) recognizes the individuals, educators, and research efforts shaping the future of national parks and inspiring new park stewards. From scientific discoveries, immersive learning, and deep commitments to community engagement, research, storytelling, and fostering connections with parks, these honorees embody the spirit of innovation and stewardship that helps protect the United States’ treasured landscapes and heritage sites.
2025 Outstanding Contributions to National Parks
Edward B. Danson Award: Gretchen Baker
As the ecologist and cave specialist at Great Basin National Park since 2003, and, prior to that, as the park’s Biological Science Technician since 2001, Gretchen Baker manages 40 caves within the park, including Lehman Cave—which she wrote the management plan for—and has secured over $8 million in grants to conserve and improve these unique underground environments. These projects include initiatives to improve cave infrastructure—including redoing Lehman Cave’s electrical system—and programs supporting the interpretation of wild caves. As the National Park Service Scientific Permit and Research Coordinator, she has supported multiple research projects funded by Western National Parks. She has helped design several visitor center exhibits interpreting the caves.
“I have continually been amazed and impressed at how active she is in bringing to light the beauty and wonder of [Great Basin National Park] not only at a local level but on a broader scale,” said Kristin Gjerdset, Professor of Art at Wisconsin Lutheran College. “Gretchen lives for and loves the Western landscape as seen through her actions; actions which have an eye for the future in preserving and protecting these precious, natural spaces.”
Since 2009, Baker has organized 16 BioBlitz events designed to connect community scientists with the park’s environments. To date, these events have documented 700 different species of plants and animals within the park, including several that are new to science. Baker has published many research papers and interpretive materials, including park guides aimed at both children and adults.
She is the founder and editor of The Midden, a biannual resource management newsletter. She is a Life Member and Fellow of the National Speleological Society, has served as the National Coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission since 2021, and has worked at six other NPS sites—Everglades National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Death Valley National Park, and Jewel Cave National Monument. WNP honors Baker for her unwavering commitment to the park’s landscapes through her research, community outreach, publications, and advocacy work, ensuring that Great Basin’s landscapes can be enjoyed, appreciated, and stewarded for generations to come.
Stewart L. Udall Award: Natalie Teboul
As an educator and creator of Traveling Miss T.’s Math Maps©, Natalie Teboul creates education materials that use the coordinate plane, something every student learns in math class, to allow learners to “travel” to the national parks without ever leaving the classroom.
Described by Ivana Mowry-Mora, Coordinator of Special Projects and Initiatives American Geographical Society as “the closest to a ‘Miss Frizzle’ for the field of geography [she has] met” and “an exemplary representative of the power of K–12 education in sparking curiosity and care for the world around us,” Teboul has created maps featuring over 60 public lands sites, including Cabrillo National Monument, Denali National Park and Preserve, and Joshua Tree National Park. Her work aims to make learning an accessible adventure to all through math, art, storytelling, and geography.
Teboul collaborates with the National Association for Interpretation and has received support from the American Geographical Society (AGS) and the American Association of Geographers. WNP honors Teboul for her work connecting learners to the parks and their natural world, so they may grow into the next generation of environmental and park stewards.
Learn more about these awards and the nomination process
2025 James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grant
Experiencing a national park—whether in a classroom through an immersive lesson, through a park ranger school visit, or on a field trip to a national park—is often an amazing experience for students and learners. The James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grant strengthens the connection between young people and parks, increasing access for underrepresented K–12 youth by providing vital funding for educators to bring the wonders of national parks into classrooms and offer transformative park experiences.
The following grants have been awarded:
Arroyos del Norte Elementary School students will visit Bandelier National Monument to learn how ancestral Puebloans’ lives and culture were shaped by their environment.
Peñasco Elementary School students will visit Petroglyph National Monument to learn about the park’s petroglyphs and the importance of conserving cultural heritage sites and artifacts.
Tularosa High School students will learn about Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument, a cultural crossroads, through an in-class experience, diving deeply into the area’s unique Indigenous and Hispanic heritage.
Sixth through twelfth graders enrolled in the Native American Advancement Foundation After School Program will participate in Saguaro National Park’s Lost Carnivores citizen science project.
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Learn more about the James E. Cook Nature's Classroom Grant
2026 WNP Research Grants
National parks serve as living laboratories where research drives conservation, resilience, and discovery. This year's grants support vital studies—from in-depth investigations of species to documenting Indigenous knowledge—offering insights that will help preserve these treasured landscapes and their stories for generations to come.
The following projects have been awarded funding:
Channel Islands National Park
Scientists are investigating the seasonal diets of the endemic Island Scrub Jay.
Chickasaw National Recreation Area
Researchers will conduct a visitor social science study focusing on visitor use dynamics and crowding perceptions.
Great Basin National Park
Researchers are surveying lakes and the Lehman Rock glacier to map, model, and monitor freshwater reservoirs within the park.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument
Scientists are investigating the impacts of border wall infrastructure on bobcats and grey foxes.
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area
Researchers are studying the home range and movements of southwestern pond turtles.
Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument
Researchers are documenting Nuwu/Nuwuvi knowledge and perspectives of the landscapes protected by the park.
White Sands National Park
Researchers will reconstruct past lake levels to understand past landscapes and climate and determine possible locations for other ancient human footprints and trackways.
Wupatki National Monument
Researchers are documenting the historical and current architecture of Wukoki Pueblo to track structural changes over time.
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Learn more about the WNP Research Grant Program
“The work we celebrate today is vibrant, forward-looking, and deeply impactful—bringing new knowledge to light, expanding access to meaningful park experiences and inspiring curiosity across generations,” said WNP President and Chief Executive Officer Marie Buck. “From groundbreaking research and innovative education to community-driven stewardship, these honorees are not only enriching our understanding of national parks—they are actively shaping their future. We are proud to support and celebrate their achievements and futures as they help ensure these extraordinary places continue to inspire, connect and endure for generations to come.”
About Western National Parks
Western National Parks helps make the national park experience possible for everyone. As a nonprofit education and philanthropic partner of the National Park Service, WNP supports parks across the West, developing products, services and programs that enhance the visitor experience, understanding and appreciation of national parks. Since 1938 WNP has worked to connect new generations to parks in meaningful ways, all with one simple goal: create advocates who want to preserve and protect these special places for everyone, for all time. Learn more at wnp.org.
