Landscape & Wildlife Conservation

 

Protecting America's National Treasures

From majestic mountain ranges in Alaska to the vast sawgrass prairies of Florida’s Everglades, national parks have safeguarded our nation's stunning landscapes, natural habitats, and native wildlife for more than a century. Located in all 50 states and covering some 85 million acres in total, our parks are increasingly subject to environmental and human impacts which threaten the health of wildlife and the habitats on which their survival depends. Over the past 50 years, the National Park Foundation (NPF) and conservation partners have helped conserve over 135,000 acres of additional park land.  
 
NPF is committed to helping to conserve native wildlife and restore critical habitats and ecosystems in our nation’s most treasured places for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of current and future generations. NPF and our partners apply the best conservation science to study and protect the most biologically diverse landscapes in the country, ensuring the health and vibrancy of park environments supporting iconic wildlife from bison and wolves to bald eagles and California condors. 

Program Highlights

Nine wolves interact on top of crusty snow.

Reintroducing Wolves to Yellowstone

Since 2014, NPF has partnered with Yellowstone National Park to support its reintroduction of wolves by providing funding for the ongoing research, tagging, and monitoring of the wolves to study how they have adjusted to their new home. The research is also providing information on how the wolves are impacting the dynamics of the rest of Yellowstone’s ecosystem, including prey species like elk and bison.

Bison at Badlands National Park

Bison in Badlands

NPF supported a project in Badlands National Park from 2017 through 2019 to expand the roaming range of bison within the park. This funding helped establish fencing to prevent cattle on nearby ranches from intermingling with the park’s bison. 

Green cypress grove at Everglades National Park

Wetland Restoration

The National Park Service (NPS) dedicated over $67 million from NPF’s Resource Recovery and Protection program and Everglades Freshwater Wetlands Mitigation Trust Fund to help restore, research, monitor, and manage 6,600 acres of abandoned farmland inside Everglades National Park. 

Arrowleaf Balsamroot around Antelope Flats, Grand Teton National Park

Protecting Antelope Flats

In 2016, NPF and Grand Teton National Park Foundation partnered to raise $23 million in private funds, matched by the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, to purchase and protect 640 acres of land within Grand Teton National Park. The new tract of land, Antelope Flats, preserves critical wildlife habitat, migration routes, and viewsheds in the park, and Wyoming public schools received the proceeds of the land purchase. 

Underwater research at Dry Tortugas National Park

Science Fellowships

In partnership with NPS, NPF’s Science Fellowship program, with the generous support from Karen and Brian Conway, allows postdoc academics to work with our parks, developing and implementing innovative research that helps NPS address resource management challenges in parks across the country, from tracking the migration of Desert Bighorn sheep to delving into deep water coral populations.