10 national parks considered 'endangered'

Parks & Recreation, April, 2004

The non-profit conservation organization, National parks Conservation Association (NPCA), released in January its sixth manual list of America's 10 Most Endangered National Parks. The list names four new additions and six that are still plagued by persistent problems, including air pollution, development and years of inadequate funding.

"Our national heritage deserves attention as much as the space program," said NPCA President Thomas C. Kiernan in a press release. "Four years ago, Candidate Bush promised to 'restore and renew' our national parks, It's time for Congress and the administration to follow through on that pledge. Without restoring the best of America--our national parks--we lose inspiration for the future."

The new additions are: Biscayne National Park in Florida because of added pollution, overfishing that is destroying the fish and coral populations, and a sensitive coastline originally slated for wetlands restoration that is now being developed; Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona because of extensive damage to its borders have largely been ignored and underfunded; Underground Railroad Network to Freedom program because inadequate funding is forcing it to roll back its mission of creating a comprehensive collection of sites, stories and artifacts; and Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska because of irresponsible ATVE use and harmful legislation that could allow more than 1,700 miles of proposed roads through the park.

The other parks that remain on the list include Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas, Everglades National Park in Florida, Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee, Joshua Tree National Park in California, Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, and Yellowstone National Park in Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

For more information on the endangered parks, visit NPCA's Web site, www.npca.org.