NPT News - March 2013

• SAVE THE DATE: Congressman Mike Simpson (ID) to Receive the Vento Award in June
• 1683 Students to Benefit from Kids to Parks Day School Contest
• Funding Ideas Presented to Sustain the National Parks in their 2nd Century
• Celebrate National Park Week & Get a Free Pass to the Parks!
• NPT Marks 30 years: Win a park prize package!

SAVE THE DATE: Congressman Mike Simpson (ID) to Receive Vento Award in June

1683 Students to Benefit from Kids to Parks Day School Contest

NPT congratulates the winners of our National Kids to Parks Day chool contest! More than twice the number of entries were received this year over last year from students in grades preK through 12th.

The 42 classroom winners were announced on March 18th at www.kidstoparks.org and represent 21 states. As a result 1683 students' dreams of celebrating National Kids to Parks Day at a local park will come true -- from Washington state to Kansas to Mississippi to Delaware! We received wonderful artwork, letters and videos from the students. A complete list of winners is provided here.

Each contest submission addressed the following criteria:

• Education: Connect park experience to class curriculum (science and history)
• Stewardship: Provide ways to protect and preserve park
• Health and Wellness: Provide outdoor recreation activities planned for the day

Each park scholarship provides bus funding for the students plus costs to cover supplies, park fees, and healthy snacks and water.

NPT thanks Southern Company Charitable Foundation, Inc. and Caesars Foundation for their very generous support of this program!

Funding Ideas Presented to Sustain the National Parks for their 2nd Century

On March 19th, the National Park Trust participated in a seminar on “Building a More Sustainable Future for America’s National Parks”. The seminar, sponsored by the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC), the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA), and the National Parks Hospitality Association (NPHA) promoted a discussion on sustainable supplementary funding ideas for America’s National Parks.

Sixteen proposals to raise funding for the parks were presented by noted park supporters including; former Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, former Secretary of Agriculture Dan Glickman, former EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman, Congressman Norm Dicks, former Congressman Jim Oberstar, and Delaware North Companies Principal Jeremy Jacobs Jr.

The four ideas examined at the seminar were:

• Enhancing Park Experiences Through Fees
• Penny for Parks and the Great Outdoors
• Park Legacy Partnership Fund: a Public/Private Partnership
• Expanded Visitor Services Through Concessioners

Also presented at the seminar were the results of survey research commissioned by the NPCA and the NPHA and conducted by Hart Research Associates & Northstar Opinion Research during the summer of 2012. Their survey shows that nearly nine out of ten Americans of voting age feel it is important for the federal government to protect and support the National Parks even in these difficult fiscal times. Importantly, these views were equally held regardless of political orientation or party affiliation.