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FEATURED PARK
Lassen Volcanic National Park,
California
Evidence that something
was brewing beneath Lassen Peak in northeastern California first
appeared in 1914, as billows of steam exploded from the
10,457-foot volcano. The following May, Lassen Peak began
spewing hot rocks and lava, which combined with deep mountain
snow to create a mudflow known as lahar. The half-mile wide flow
devastated the peak's northeast side. Three days later, an
avalanche of fast-moving, hot lava erupted and followed the same
path as the earlier lahar flow.
Lassen Volcanic National
Park was established in 1916. Active volcanism and hydrothermal
activity still draw visitors to the region. In fact, Lassen
Volcanic National Park contains the most extensive, intact
network of hydrothermal resources west of Yellowstone National
Park, including fumaroles, mudpots, and boiling springs. Here
you can feel the planet's heartbeat. Lassen Volcanic National
Park is very much alive.
View
the slideshow > >
Finishing the
Story
 In September, millions
watched Ken Burns' film, The National Parks: America's Best
Idea, which told the story of how our national parks came
to be. Burns' film chronicled the changing American land ethic
that gave rise to our national parks.
The film spans the
years 1851-1980, ending with passage of the sweeping Alaska
National Interest Lands Conservation Act. NPCA asked renowned
national park expert Kim Heacox to help finish the story. In his
series, Finishing the Story, Heacox picks up where the film
leaves off, carrying the baton into the last three decades.
Read: "Finishing
the Story" by Alaska writer and photographer Kim
Heacox.
National
Parks Second Century Commission's New
Report
 A first
in-a-generation effort to examine the national parks today, and
chart a vision for their second century of service to the
nation.
Over the past year, members of the
independent National Parks Second
Century Commission traveled to national parks around the
country, met with experts, and listened to the American people
discuss national parks today, so they could chart a vision for
their future.
This year-long analysis concluded with the
release of Advancing the National
Park Idea--a report that outlines a vision and plan of
action to ensure our national parks are well preserved for their
second century.
As the next step in the process, park
supporters have been invited to contribute their thoughts by
participating in an online
survey designed to gauge the public's interest in the
commission's recommendations. This information is crucial in
identifying support and resources for policy-makers as park
advocates such as NPCA move into the implementation phase of the
process toward the second century of our park system.
To view the full report,
committee findings, and survey on how you can help, visit: www.VisionfortheParks.org.
Protect the
Parks with the help of the IRA Rollover!
 Congress re-authorized
legislation that allows donors to make charitable gifts from
their IRA accounts during tax year 2009 and avoid paying any tax
on the withdrawal. If you are age 70 1/2 or older and would like
to make a tax-free gift by December 31, 2009, this may be a
great way to help protect the parks and ease tax burdens at the
same time.
To qualify:
You must be age
70 1/2 or older at the time of the gift.
Transfers must be made from a
traditional or Roth IRA account by your plan provider DIRECTLY
to the charity. Funds that are withdrawn by you and then
contributed do NOT qualify.
Benefits--Qualified
charitable IRA distributions:
Can total up to
$100,000 in 2009 (if your spouse has a separate IRA
account, you can each contribute up to $100,000 per tax
year);
Can be on a tax-free basis (not
subject to income, gift, or estate tax)
Are not
subject to the normal limits on charitable gifts or
other reduction rules.
To learn more about the IRA
Rollover or other information about planned giving with NPCA,
contact: Morgan Dodd, Director of Gift Planning, toll-free at
1.877.468.5775 or e-mail mdodd@npca.org or visit www.npca.org/giftplanning.
CAMPAIGN UPDATE
Climate Legislation Advances in the
Senate
Climate
Legislation Passes Key Senate Committee
On
November 5th, the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW)
Committee approved a climate change "cap and trade" bill that
would cut greenhouse gasses and establish a national program to
safeguard national parks and other protected lands from climate
change impacts.
The Clean Jobs and American Power Act
would invest one percent of the revenue generated from the sale
of greenhouse gas emissions permits into the protection of air,
water, land, and wildlife that sustain both our national parks
and our communities.
Given the enormity of climate change
impacts on our parks and public lands, NPCA had been seeking up
to five percent of the cap and trade revenue to restore
ecosystems and help them withstand the increase in droughts,
wildfires, floods, and invasive species linked to climate
change.
We are grateful to the 11,000 people who
responded to our recent action alert and wrote their
senators in support of 5 percent for natural resources. We will
continue to make the case for greater spending on natural
resources as the climate bill moves through the Senate. A Senate
floor vote is expected early next year.
NPCA
builds support for climate legislation to protect parks and
wildlife
As we reported last month, Senator
Jeff Bingaman (D-NM), chair of the Energy and Natural Resources
Committee, introduced legislation that aims to safeguard
America's natural resources, including our national parks, from
the effects of climate change. The Natural Resources Climate
Adaptation Act, which is co-sponsored by Senators Max Baucus
(D-MT), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and Tom Udall (D-NM), would
establish a national framework to coordinate the work of all
federal and state agencies responsible for management of public
lands and wildlife. The bill is similar to natural resource
protection language in the cap and trade bill, however it lacks
a dedicated source of funding.
NPCA will be working in
the months ahead to build support for the Natural Resources
Climate Adaptation Act to make sure that wildlife and natural
resources in the United States are protected for generations to
come. We're happy to report that Michael Bennet (D-CO), signed
on as a co-sponsor last week. NPCA will be sending out an action
alert on this historic legislation in the near future, and we
are grateful for your continued support of our efforts to
protect the national parks.
Feel Free: A Cause for our National Parks Concert
& Film Premiere Draws 10,000 to Central Park
 September saw the
biggest event in NPCA's history: the New York premiere of Ken
Burns's epic documentary, Our National Parks: Americas Best
Idea. The combination of a balmy evening; a big stage;
picnickers packed tightly across a giant lawn; and the Counting
Crows, as well as Alison Krauss, Gavin DeGraw, Carole King, and
Peter Yarrow, among others, performing in between clips from the
film.
NPCA's President Tom Kiernan and the filmmakers
Ken Burns and Dayton Duncan served as the evening's hosts. All
of this in Central Park, New York City! For a glorious evening,
our national parks and NPCA dominated the entertainment world.
With the staging of this mega-event, NPCA culminated a year's
worth of Ken Burns-related events across the country; more than
60 events held to announce the release of this sweeping
documentary film about our national parks.
Entitled
"Feel Free," this event anchored NPCA's National Parks Week NYC,
which included nearly 40 events happening throughout New York
City. The National Park Service crowded the calendar with
activities ranging from bike rides, to candlelit tours, to
special evening visits at the Statue of Liberty and Ellis
Island. Partners included the American Museum of Natural
History, the Bronx Zoo, Smithsonian American Art Museum, New
York Harbor Parks Conservancy, Brooklyn Children's Museum, and
others, all helping to host special park-related activities
attracting thousands of residents and visitors. Spirits soared
as we celebrated America's greatest treasures: our national
parks.
Want to know more
about National Parks Week NYC? Visit www.feelfree.org for all the
details!
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