National Parks Conservation Association
“To protect and enhance America’s National Park System.”
1 live lawsuit, 22 comments to the agencies, 78 cents of every dollar to the work.
The origin
How they started
The National Parks Conservation Association has been the leading independent voice for the national parks for more than a century, founded in 1919 just three years after the Park Service itself. It defends the parks from chronic underfunding, adjacent development, air and water pollution, and political interference. When a park faces a threat from outside its boundaries, NPCA is usually the group sounding the alarm.
Every year they sign one sentence and file it with the federal government: “Protecting America's national parks for present and future generations.” as filed.
Where the money went, FY2025
The work, and what it cost
National Parks Thrive
$20.4M, 41% of spendingThe organization protects parks from external threats that negatively effect, degrade, or destroy park resources or values, and serves to protect, restore, and maintain park, natural, and cultural resources unimpaired…
Including $278,013 granted onward, all of it to National Wildlife Federation.
Read it as they filed it
NATIONAL PARKS THRIVE: THE ORGANIZATION PROTECTS PARKS FROM EXTERNAL THREATS THAT NEGATIVELY EFFECT, DEGRADE, OR DESTROY PARK RESOURCES OR VALUES, AND SERVES TO PROTECT, RESTORE, AND MAINTAIN PARK, NATURAL, AND CULTURAL RESOURCES UNIMPAIRED FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS. THE ORGANIZATION HAS OFFICES ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO ENSURE THAT THREATS TO RESOURCES AT OUR PARKS ARE DETECTED EARLY AND SOLUTIONS TO THESE THREATS IMPLEMENTED QUICKLY. THE ORGANIZATION ALSO IDENTIFIES AND CULTIVATE PARK CHAMPIONS WHO CAN ADVANCE POLICIES THAT PROTECT PARKS AND THWART EMERGING THREATS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
National Parks Are for Everyone
$12.1M, 24% of spendingThe long-term viability and vibrancy of the national parks depend on a broader, more diverse, committed, and engaged constituency that values the National Park idea.
Including $13,147 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
NATIONAL PARKS ARE FOR EVERYONE: THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY AND VIBRANCY OF THE NATIONAL PARKS DEPEND ON A BROADER, MORE DIVERSE, COMMITTED, AND ENGAGED CONSTITUENCY THAT VALUES THE NATIONAL PARK IDEA. TO GAIN BROADER SUPPORT FOR THE PARKS, THE ORGANIZATION SEEKS TO CREATE A LARGER NATIONAL PARK COMMUNITY THAT IS ENGAGED, EDUCATED, AND EMPOWERED TO PROTECT AND ENHANCE OUR NATIONAL PARKS AND MONUMENTS. THIS BROADER COMMUNITY INCLUDES NON-TRADITIONAL ALLIES AND A BROADER CONSTITUENCY THAT MORE CLOSELY REPRESENTS THE CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS OF AMERICA.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Parks tell stories of all Americans
$6.0M, 12% of spendingNational parks protect our countrys most important history. The organization will ensure the National Park Service has the funding needed to improve the visitor experience and make parks more relevant to all.
Including $84,263 granted onward.
Read it as they filed it
PARKS TELL STORIES OF ALL AMERICANS: NATIONAL PARKS PROTECT OUR COUNTRYS MOST IMPORTANT HISTORY. THE ORGANIZATION WILL ENSURE THE NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HAS THE FUNDING NEEDED TO IMPROVE THE VISITOR EXPERIENCE AND MAKE PARKS MORE RELEVANT TO ALL. BY ENHANCING PARK STORYTELLING, EXPANDING AND CREATING NEW PARKS, AND DEEPLY ENGAGING THE PUBLIC, WE CAN ENSURE THAT NATIONAL PARKS REPRESENT, WELCOME, AND SHARE A FULLER AMERICAN STORY WITH ALL VISITORS.
IRS Form 990 Part III, fiscal year 2025, signed under penalty of perjury.
Follow the dollar
78 cents of every dollar goes to the work
Read it as a snapshot, not a scorecard. Splits move year to year with grants and campaigns, and healthy shops live all across this range.
$38,403,094 programs, $4,234,176 management, $6,692,147 fundraising. Form 990, FY2025.
The backers
Backed on the record by Wilburforce Foundation, Kendeda Fund, Resources Legacy Fund and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, latest filing FY24.
The people
Who does the work
Honesty note: leadership comes from each year’s federal filing, so it can run a year behind. If it’s out of date, tell us. Work at NPCA? Claim this page.
Those 900 volunteers are people who decided this ground was theirs to defend. If NPCA is fighting for your place too, the matchmaker will find your way in.
Find your way inThe record
The court record
And 4 more in our case database: a selection we track, not their full docket.
Fights alongside Center for Biological Diversity (5 shared cases), Sierra Club (5 shared cases), Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (4 shared cases), Defenders of Wildlife (3 shared cases) and Earthjustice (3 shared cases) and 19 more. Same case, same side, on the federal docket.
The filings
14 years of filings
Total revenue by fiscal year, as filed. Point at or tap the line for any year.
| Year | Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2011 | $27,412,959 |
| 2012 | $25,782,975 |
| 2013 | $34,619,289 |
| 2014 | $28,657,291 |
| 2015 | $31,816,420 |
| 2016 | $32,673,919 |
| 2017 | $34,161,289 |
| 2018 | $42,004,321 |
| 2019 | $47,029,978 |
| 2020 | $40,067,349 |
| 2021 | $41,743,039 |
| 2022 | $48,480,006 |
| 2023 | $35,078,730 |
| 2025 | $51,618,326 |
From $27.4M in 2011 to $51.6M in FY25, across 14 public filings (none on record for 2024).
On the Hill
NPCA files its own federal lobbying reports: 53 filings from 2019 to 2026, naming 239 bills. The filings, at the Senate.
Most filed on real estate, natural resources and the budget.
The record
On the record with the agencies
22 comments on federal decisions since 2023, each filed under the group’s own name on regulations.gov. The latest on decisions we track:
Year by year
The record, in order
- 1919National Parks Conservation Association is formed.the return, formation year
- 20132013 to 2024: 8 cases filed, all since closed: Sierra Club v. United States Environmental Protection Agency; S. Utah Wilderness Alliance v. Burke and 6 more.the docket
The other 6
2015, National Parks Conservation Association v. United States Forest Service, closed; 2021, Defenders of Wildlife v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, closed; 2019, SalmonState v. Hladick, closed; 2013, Solenex LLC v. Bernhardt, closed; 2024, State of Iowa v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed; 2020, Alaska Community Action on Toxics v. Council on Environmental Quality, closed.
- 2021First appears in the grants of Kendeda Fund and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.the funders’ returns
- 2022Garfield County v. Biden: intervenor, still in court.the docket
- First appears in Wilburforce Foundation’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20233 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- First appears in Resources Legacy Fund’s grants.the funder’s return
- 20246 comments to federal agencies, the National Park Service among them, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 202511 comments, most to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
- 20262 comments, one to the Bureau of Land Management and one to the Fish and Wildlife Service, under the group’s own name.regulations.gov
Rust, a case still in court. Green, a funder’s return. Hollow, a filing. Every row is a record we hold: 9 federal cases with the group on the docket, 22 comments filed under its own name, 4 funders whose returns name it. Nothing here is written from memory.
Their ground
The places they defend
Plaintiff in Northern Alaska Environmental Center v. Trump, the Ambler road suit filed in 2020, now challenging the reinstated permits and the right of way across Gates of the Arctic National Preserve
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchDinosaur National MonumentRuns a dedicated Dinosaur campaign pressing BLM to weigh health and landscape harms before leasing in the Uinta Basin
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchGulf Islands National SeashorePlaintiff in the challenge to the Gulf-wide endangered species exemption, naming Gulf Islands among the parks at risk
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchIndiana Dunes National ParkDocumented the park’s industrial air pollution in its Polluted Parks analysis and pressed EPA in 2024 to force a stronger Indiana regional haze plan cutting emissions from park-harming facilities.
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchKatahdin Woods and WatersDefended the monument in the 2017 Antiquities Act review, opposed a proposed mine near the monument in 2023, and backs the bipartisan Katahdin Woods and Waters Access Act to expand the park.
Who’s defending it On the ground · On watchBiscayne National ParkSued Interior in 2020 and won the March 2024 ruling ordering the Park Service to propose the regulation for Biscayne’s long-promised marine reserve zone
Who’s defending itMost urgent first: open comment windows, then live federal cases, then the threat level. See every threatened place on one map, and who stands for each.
National Parks Conservation Association files one related organization on its return: National Parks Action Fund (501(c)(4)). A related organization shares people or purpose; it does not share the books.
Ways in
How to help
Straight to their own donation page. Your dollar never passes through us.
Give on their site ↗Show upVolunteer with themFind their volunteer door on their own site.
Find it on their site ↗SpeakComment and callOpen comment windows and call scripts for fights like these, ready to send.
Public Lands Action NetworkFollowWatch the mapEvery threatened place in the country, tracked, with who stands for each.
Threatened Lands MapStand with NPCA
The mission is theirs. The backing is yours.