The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) was established in 1919 to protect and enhance the National Park System and to be the pure guardian of the mandate to protect the system’s landmarks and landscapes, unimpaired for future generations.

The nonpartisan NPCA works on the ground, in and around our national parks, conducting research, and working hand-in-hand with National Park Service staff, community leaders, park advocates, and state and federal legislators to ensure that our parks are welcoming and well funded, well managed and well protected for our children and grandchildren.

One of our founders, Stephen Mather, was also the first director of the National Park Service, established in 1916. Mather and others saw a clear need for an independent voice outside of the federal government to protect America’s national parks. Since our establishment, NPCA has been the leading voice of the American people in protecting and enhancing the park system’s superlative examples of America’s natural, cultural, and historic heritage. NPCA and its more than 340,000 members and supporters are committed to preserving the most diverse park system in the world for us now and for those who will come after.

The National Parks Conservation Association has undertaken a series of aggressive programs to address the National Park System's most pressing needs and prevalent threats. Two program areas -- Park Resource Protection and Visitor Experience -- address systemic threats facing the parks. The two others - Park Funding and Management and Public Support - are aimed at creating the underpinnings for the sustained protection of the parks.

Within each of the four program areas, NPCA is implementing both broad national programs and additional park-level projects. The national programs are strategic, proactive efforts that address issues National Park System-wide, integrating work in specific parks with work at a national level, e.g., with Congress or National Park Service leadership. Park-specific projects are those that fall within the program areas but address threats relevent only to that park.