Stop the privatization of America's national parks

Imagine the possibilities...

The petition to the Department of the Interior reads: "Don't allow America's national treasures to be destroyed by corporate greed. Stop all plans to privatize our national parks." Add your name:

Here's a frightening idea: Grand Canyon, sponsored by Coca Cola. Yosemite, brought to you by McDonalds. Acadia, a subsidiary of Aramark. Under a scheme hatched by former disgraced Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, that could be the eventual fate of America's national parks. Reporters recently uncovered shady plans between the Interior Department and national park profiteers, the RV and hospitality industries, and enemies of public lands to privatize national park campgrounds, allow commercialized food trucks and other services at parks, limit benefits for seniors and increase prices.1 This plan would be a massive giveaway to corporate interests and Trump donors who stand to profit from national park privatization. We must speak out now to stop it. Tell the Department of the Interior: Stop the privatization of national parks. Click here to sign the petition. According to the recently discovered memo, the Trump administration’s “Made in America” Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee recommends privatizing national park campgrounds, which are currently managed by the National Park Service, instituting blackout dates and restrictions on senior benefits, increasing fees, expanding infrastructure that could harm wildlife habitat, and allowing mobile food trucks and camp stores on national park grounds.2 These measures will not only limit access for seniors and low income people to these pristine public lands - selling out our national parks to private interests will also line the pockets of Trump donors. Jerry Jacobs Jr., the billionaire chairman of Delaware North, a massive food service and concessionaire with deep interests in America's national parks, sits on the “Made in America” committee, donated at least $167,700 to Trump and stands to make massive profits if the Interior Department follows through with this scheme. Privatizing America's national parks is another example in a long line of actions by the Trump administration to hand over public lands to private interests and donors, whether it's the fossil fuel industry, mining companies or corporate food and lodging. According to Western Values Project Deputy Director Jayson O’Neill, "Privatizing America’s public campgrounds and jacking up national park fees to appease big-business concessionaires and powerful corporate campaign donors is just the latest egregious attempt to rip public lands out of public hands."3 Activism to protect our national parks from Trump donors and corporate interests works. Thanks in part to more than 143,000 CREDO members who signed our petition, the names of historic locations at Yosemite National Park will be restored to their well-known names, a big victory over billionaire Jacobs, who brought a frivolous lawsuit against the NPS.4 We must speak out loud and clear that our beloved national parks are America's public lands, not a private, money-making playground for billionaire Trump donors. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/national-park-privatization?t=9&akid=34738%2E3130208%2E5csWD3 - Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Frederick Reimers, "A New Plan to Make Camping in National Parks Worse," Outside, Oct. 21, 2019. Alexander Nazaryan, "Trump advisory council recommends expanding private business in national parks," Yahoo News, Oct. 11, 2019. Yetta Stein, "Plans to Privatize National Parks Outlined in Trump Admin Memo, Would Enrich Donors & Special Interests," Western Values Project, Oct. 11, 2019. Josh Nelson, "Victory: Yosemite keeps historic names," CREDO Mobile, Sept. 9 2019.

Sign the Petition: Tell Congress to save America’s top parks program

America's most important program for protecting land, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), will end on September 30, 2018 if we don't ask Congress to rescue it.

LWCF has worked well for more than 50 years, providing diverse outdoor recreation opportunities for people across the nation. From local ballfields to iconic national parks, LWCF improves access to the outdoors for everyone. It is popular across political lines and doesn’t burden taxpayers.

But now this popular bipartisan program is under attack, and our shared spaces could become developed, fragmented or otherwise damaged if we don't do something about it. Please call your member of Congress and ask them to support renewal and full funding for LWCF!

Click here to sign the following e-mail. (Feel free to personalize for more impact.) 

The Land and Water Conservation Fund is America’s most important conservation and outdoor recreation access program.  It is critical to protecting our parks and public lands at the federal, state, and local level, opening up recreational access and opportunities in virtually every community across the country and helping to grow our nation’s $887 billion outdoor recreation economy. 

The wildly successful and strongly bi-partisan program, which has provided critical funding for the last 54 years, will disappear at the end of this fiscal year if Congress does not act.  I strongly urge you to permanently reauthorize and fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Thank you.

Other ways to contact Senator Flake:

https://www.flake.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-jeff

Washington, D.C. Office:P: 202-224-4521
Tucson Office: 520-575-8633

To find your representative, first find your district:

https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Use that district to find your Rep. 

https://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster/

Other senators contact information:
https://contactingcongress.org

Tell Congress: Re-open National Parks and Properly Fund Them!

Congress has failed to fulfill its responsibility to fund the federal government, which has now closed for business. 

Many of our national parks are closed as well. However, the Department of the Interior has decided to keep some parks open, but with closed facilities, no services and without the necessary staff to safely operate the parks. Leaving park gates open with little to no staff compromises visitor safety and jeopardizes park resources.

National parks -- and visitors -- cannot be adequately protected without the expertise of the National Park Service. 

- Theresa Pierno, President and CEO

National Parks Conservation Association 

Take action right now! Tell Congress to do its job -- fund the government and re-open our parks with the staff they need to meet their mission.

To send the following message, click the link above. 

(Consider personalizing it for even more impact.) 

Message

Re-open National Parks and Fund Them Adequately

Dear [Decision Maker],

• US Senator Jeff L. Flake
• US Senator John McCain III
• US Representative Martha E. McSally
• 
  

Along with all 1.3 million members and supporters of the National Parks Conservation Association, I want you to end the government shutdown immediately and fund the federal government -- including our national parks and all who work in them.

Congress should not allow our national parks to be the victims of a failed budget process, especially when parks are so important to millions of Americans like me and do so much to benefit many local economies. Congress must work to keep national parks open and help parks recover from years of underfunding which has resulted in too few staff, constraints in protecting wildlife and serving visitors, and an $11 billion maintenance backlog.

I urge you to work with your colleagues to end the shutdown so our national parks can once again serve visitors and local economies. And as you finalize a spending plan for FY18, I urge you to increase the currently insufficient funding for the National Park Service.

Thank you.

Check out Trump's proposed budget cuts. This affects our quality of life as Americans!

I've been up all night studying Trump's proposed budget cuts. And it's shocking! We need to keep on top of what is going on in our government.

"Trump’s budget takes a sledgehammer to the EPA. Eliminates more than 50 programs and 3,200 jobs lost. Discontinues funding for international climate-change programs. Cuts funding for the Office of Research and Development in half. Cuts funding for the Superfund cleanup program and the Office of Enforcement and Compliance."

The cuts to the EPA alone eliminates more than 3,200 jobs. Now compare that to the 40 jobs the Nestle bottling facility brings to Phoenix (to bottle up AZ. CAP water) or the 400 Green Valley miners who were let go when the mine was deemed "not profitable enough."

"Climate change and ocean research would suffer sharp cuts in the Trump budget proposal for the Commerce Department, which aims for a reduction of 16 percent, or $1.5 billion, much of that targeted at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Commerce cuts would eliminate $ 250 million in coastal research programs that prepare communities for rising seas and worsening storms, including the popular $73 million Sea Grant program, which works with universities in 33 states.

But scientists, including a former NOAA administrator, Jane Lubchenco, strongly criticized the proposed cuts when they were reported on previously, saying that they would harm coastal readiness in the face of rising seas and damage states that rely on these funds to manage their shorelines."

"The EDUCATION DEPARTMENT faces a 14 percent cut under the Trump administration budget, which would downsize or eliminate a raft of grants, including for teacher training, afterschool programs, and aid to low-income and minority college students. The cuts would be coupled with a historic investment — $1.4 billion — in charter schools, private schools and other school-choice initiatives."

This is just the tip of the sinking iceberg. Check out the proposed budget cuts for yourself - then speak out! This is about our quality of life as Americans: our education, our health, our arts, our public lands and national parks, our animals, our rivers and streams, even the water we drink and the air we breath. This is about the science and innovations that make us a world power. This is about being a compassionate nation. This is about taking care of our own - our elderly and our children. This is about protecting freedom and the American Dream. The American Dream is providing a BETTER LIFE for our children.

It's time we asked ourselves, "What makes America great?"And fight like the dickens for it.