National Park Foundation Statement on National Park Service Advisory Board
WASHINGTON – Will Shafroth, president of the National Park Foundation (NPF) issued the following statement regarding the recent resignations from the National Park Service Advisory Board:
“We recognize that the news about the recent resignations from the National Park Service Advisory Board may have resulted in some confusion about its role and that of the National Park Foundation. The National Park Service Advisory Board was authorized in 1935 to advise the Secretary of the Interior and the National Park Service Director on challenges and opportunities facing the national parks.
The National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of the National Park Service, focuses on generating private support and building strategic public-private partnerships to ensure the vitality and promise of America’s National Park System for future generations. The National Park Foundation Board of Directors, created when the organization was chartered by Congress in 1967, is tasked with guiding NPF in its mission to raise and invest funds to support our national parks.
The National Park Foundation Board of Directors remains intact and NPF continues its work, alongside hundreds of local philanthropic organizations and other park partners, on behalf of our national parks. We will continue to collaborate with all who love our parks and who help make possible the important work that we do together to preserve these national treasures.”
ABOUT THE NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION
Celebrating 50 years, the National Park Foundation is the official charity of America’s national parks and nonprofit partner to the National Park Service. Chartered by Congress in 1967, the National Park Foundation raises private funds to help PROTECT more than 84 million acres of national parks through critical conservation and preservation efforts, CONNECT all Americans with their incomparable natural landscapes, vibrant culture and rich history, and ENGAGE the next generation of park stewards. In 2016, commemorating the National Park Service’s 100th anniversary, the Foundation launched The Centennial Campaign for America’s National Parks, a comprehensive fundraising campaign to strengthen and enhance the future of these national treasures for the next hundred years. Find out more and become a part of the national park community at www.nationalparks.org.