National Park Foundation

Enter the free ticket lottery for the 2024 National Christmas Tree Lighting! This year’s event will take place on Thursday, Dec. 5 on the Ellipse at The White House and President's Park. Free tickets will be awarded through an online lottery, which will close on Oct. 30 at 10 a.m. ET. To enter the lottery, visit www.recreation.gov and click “TICKET LOTTERY.” You may also call 877-444-6777 to enter the lottery. Lottery applicants will be notified about their ticket status on Nov. 8. 📸: Elman Studio for NPF

Service corps crews work on some of the most important projects in national parks – things like trail maintenance, tree planting, habitat restoration, and installing park infrastructure. This year, NPF invested $5.8 million to support 47 service corps projects across the country, which engage young adults while they explore future careers, gain practical field skills, and develop confidence as leaders. Learn more about NPF’s Service Corps program: https://lnkd.in/dxXmNjti  

Over the next three years, NPF supported science fellows are conducting research projects prioritizing climate change adaptation, conservation, visitor use, and biodiversity in parks across the country. One of these fellows, Dr. James Lamping, is working with the North Coast and Cascades Inventory & Monitoring Network and five NPS sites. His research focuses on managing unprecedented fires in wet forests, including fuel treatments in ancient forests and targeted fire suppression to safeguard salmon-bearing streams. Learn more about this year’s cohort: https://lnkd.in/eV3SxGDC Photo Credit: LoweStock (North Cascades National Park)

With NPF’s support, Mount Rushmore National Memorial constructed a Stone Hoop ethnobotany garden honoring tribal nations. The design is based on ancient stone circles scattered throughout the Americas. https://lnkd.in/gGkPVRth 📸: National Park Service

“A single mom who works two jobs Who loves her kids and never stops With gentle paws and the heart of a fighter I'm a grrrrvivor!” Hail to 128 Grazer, Queen of Fat Bear Week! The 2024 champion is the first in tournament history to win while also caring for a cub. Let us raise our paws and honor the royal highness of roundness, the majestic monarch of munching, the snacking sovereign of salmon. 128 “Grazer” is one of the most successful and adaptable bears when it comes to bulking up for winter. Thank you to everyone who followed along, cast a vote, and celebrated the importance of Katmai’s bears and the rich ecosystem they live in and support. Special shoutout to the “official sponsor” of Fat Bear Week, the sockeye salmon. Image: A bulked up bear (128 Grazer) standing in a forested area at Katmai National Park & Preserve

With support from NPF, historian Laura Dominguez recounts violence against Chinese Americans at two sites in the American West. Story: https://lnkd.in/eAB8i4Hi Recognizing Chinese American communities’ own efforts to repair and remember, Dr. Dominguez is collaborating with local partners to designate and memorialize new historic sites that will broaden awareness and open dialogue about anti-immigrant violence in America, then and now. Dr. Dominguez’s work is an outstanding example of how NPF connects research to place-making to tell stories forgotten by some but whose legacies have meaning for us all. 📸: National Park Service

NPF is excited to announce more than $1 million in grants through a Rivers and Trails RFP! Explore the projects: https://lnkd.in/eWVx_KcC These projects will enhance the visitor experience at these sites, create opportunities for on-trail education, fund research, wildlife conservation, and much more. Today marks the anniversary of the National Trails System Act of 1968 and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968, legislation that enabled the protection of some of our nation’s most iconic places. NPF’s support helps bolster the resiliency of and futureproof these sites! 📸: iStock/UWMadison

Biologists in Joshua Tree National Park have been monitoring desert tortoises since 2003. It's one of the longest-running tortoise monitoring programs in the nation. Scientists began tracking to learn whether adding curbs to some roads to protect habitats from vehicles would interfere with tortoises’ movement. They discovered that tortoises could scale the curbs with a slight modification to their design. Tortoise tracking continues to provide new insights into tortoise behaviors. With NPF’s support, Joshua Tree National Park was able to purchase 18 transmitters to track the desert tortoises living within the park boundaries. These transmitters are specifically designed to safely adhere to the shell of the desert tortoise with glue mounts allowing the animal to live and function normally. 📸: National Park Service

Public lands are: ⛰️ Spaces to explore 🗽 Iconic places 📜 Home to our history 🌄 Where we come together Today, we celebrate public lands and the memories we've made. Happy Public Lands Day! 📸: Sarah Gustafson 📸: lunamarina 📸: National Park Service 📸: Maribel_Torres

Summer, you were fantastic, but it’s time to make way for pumpkin spice, leaves, boots, and sweaters! National parks are great places to see the fall colors and feel the crunch of the leaves beneath your feet! Here are a few things to keep in mind when you visit. 📜 Follow the rules 🏞️ Visit at off-peak times 👀 Look, don’t touch 🐻 Respect wildlife 🙋 Consider volunteering Not sure where to go? USA TODAY’s free national parks edition is filled with inspiration for your next journey: https://lnkd.in/eAeAKFvP 📸: Denis Tangney Jr