News Release: Land Summit

National Parks: "Save Them While You Can"
Land Acquisition Summit

Washington DC, May 11, 1999 - This was the message delivered during a Land Acquisition Summit hosted by the National Park Trust and attended by the Trust for Public Land, Civil War Trust, Association of Partners for Public Lands, National Parks and Conservation Association, Friends for Parks and Public Lands, American Hiking Society, American Grassroots Unlimited, and the Global Environmental & Technology Foundation.

The NPS has $277 million dollars in their budget for acquisition. The lands to be purchased have already been identified, yet the process for acquiring these critical tracts is impeded by numerous restrictions and regulations.

"There is a national concern that we must save critical areas of natural and historic significance, but Congress has not adequately responded to this growing concern," said Paul Pritchard, president of National Park Trust.

"Many organizations at the grassroots level have been working closely to gain public support for preserving their local heritage as represented in the local units of the national and state parks," said Ken Fitch of American Grassroots Unlimited.

"We must think broadly about protecting America's heritage. Some people think it is maintenance versus land acquisition. But in fact, they are all essential, all key to the protection of our heritage." It was agreed that there is a necessity to work together with a larger vision towards saving privately held lands within the boundaries of national parks. "Give up individual power to sit at the table as equals," said one citizen volunteer.

The summit was the second held by National Park Trust. The first dealt with the needs of state parks held in Denver, CO.

National Park Trust is the only private land trust that focuses exclusively on protecting America's parklands. Founded in 1982, the National Park Trust has acquired and donated lands in over thirty parks and is the only non-profit authorized by Congress to own a national park unit, the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve.

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Founded in 1983, National Park Trust is the only land conservancy dedicated to preserving our national system of parks, wildlife and historic monuments. On November 12, 1996, legislation was passed creating the Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve in the Flint Hills of Kansas; the only unit of the National Park Service designated for the protection of the tallgrass ecosystem. The legislation authorizing the Preserve states the purposes of the preserve are "to preserve, protect and interpret for the public an example of tallgrass prairie ecosystem…" The Preserve will remain in private ownership with the NPT but will eventually be managed by the NPS under a cooperative agreement.