WASHINGTON — The National Park Service is seeing a surge in private support bigger than anytime in its 108-year history, as it also faces a maintenance backlog of more than $23 billion, made worse this fall by hurricane damage to its most popular location.
Three years after setting a goal of raising $1 billion, the Park Service’s official charitable partner, the National Park Foundation, is almost there, having raised $840 million since 2021, the foundation’s outgoing president and CEO Will Shafroth said.
That fundraising under the Campaign for National Parks is in addition to efforts of park partners across the country — such as the Trust for Public Land, American Battlefield Trust, Conservation Legacy and the Student Conservation Association — that collectively want to raise another $3.5 billion.
Visits to national parks rose from about 275 million in 2010 to 325 million last year. Shafroth said many of these visitors, inspired by the beauty of places like Yellowstone National Park, say the parks and staff have “created an amazing experience for me and my family. I want to give back.”
Hundreds of thousands more give back by volunteering, whether rebuilding trails, clearing trash, serving as docents or organizing special events.