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Preparing Parks for the Future · National Parks Conservation Association

Online Niel November 5, 2024

Passed in August 2022, the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is the largest investment our country has made to reduce climate pollution while preparing parks and communities for its impacts. $700 million has now been allocated to hire more staff and better prepare our parks’ natural, cultural and historic resources to deal with climate change.

NPCA has long been a voice in the fight for stronger climate action for national parks. This historic bill finally became a reality thanks to our experts at NPCA, who advocated alongside millions of people demanding climate action. NPCA and thousands of our members and supporters sent letters, made calls and traveled to Washington, DC to urge elected officials to boost renewable energy and protect our parks from the impending effects of climate change.

The inflation relief law came at a crucial time for national parks, which are already dealing with natural disasters linked to human-caused climate change. Record flooding of Death Valley’s curved roads, massive wildfires threaten Sequoia and its namesake trees, and non-native species that thrive in a warming climate are upending Acadia National Park’s ecological balance. The same climate disasters are devastating the communities around our parks. These effects are spreading across our country and affecting more than 430 national park sites.

These weather events did not go unnoticed. A majority of Americans – 71% of them – are concerned about the future of US national parks if more is not done to address climate change. And even more of them, nearly 4 in 5, support IRA funding to the National Park Service to address climate change.

These IRA-funded projects in some of our most valued and significant national parks directly address the concerns of Americans if more is not done to address climate change. In fact, 4 out of 5 Americans support IRA funding to the National Park Service to rebuild green infrastructure.

Like our parks, the IRA is monumental. However, twice as many projects were proposed than could be undertaken under the bill, demonstrating the demand for climate-conscious projects on national park sites.

To deal with climate change with our best resources, we need our national parks to thrive and lead. Americans are united on our public lands, making them a political solution as well as our physical path forward, demonstrating how places can meet the unique and unprecedented challenges of the climate crisis. Learn more about the ongoing successes of IRA projects in the National Park System below.

More about the Inflation Relief Act

press release

The National Park Service announces additional projects to prepare for climate change

February 2024

“It is clear that parks across this country must meet the urgent need for action and infrastructure as we face more severe and intense climate disasters… Parks need sustained funding to prepare for the future so they can thrive, not just survive.” –Chad Lord, NPCA Senior Director of Environmental Policy and Climate Change

Blog post

A critical moment for the climate

August 2022
| Of Chad Lord

The new Inflation Reduction Act would authorize nearly $1 billion for the National Park Service to respond to climate change, among its many benefits. Here’s what’s in the bill, what’s at stake — and what you can do.

Spreadsheet

Park projects through the Mid-Atlantic Inflation Relief Act

Enacted in August 2022, the Inflation Relief Act allocated nearly $700 million to the NPS. This allocation would help recruit additional staff for national parks and increase the resilience of national parks to climate challenges. Below is a list of funding allocated to Mid-Atlantic National Parks in FY 2023.