Olympic National Park split $1.5 million with North Cascades and Mount Rainier national parks thanks to Washington's National Park Fund/Rebecca Latson
Washington's National Park Fund has hit a milestone, and the beneficiaries are Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic national parks.
Those three national parks in Washington state, and hundreds of others across the country, face new challenges as they work to recover from a five-week government shutdown that impacted everything from infrastructure to staffing to preparations for the upcoming peak season.
To help out the parks, Washington's National Park Fund last week awarded more than $1.5 million to those three parks. It is the largest annual distribution in organizational history, and it funds critical programs in four core areas: advancing science and research, improving visitors’ experiences, expanding volunteerism and stewardship, and providing for youth and family programs.
WNPF is supported through a combination of generous donors, corporate donors, and foundations, as well as major fundraising events and a statewide national park license plate program.
Each year, WNPF works closely with the superintendents of each of the three national parks who select and submit the priority projects for their respective parks. The much-needed funds were raised from October 1, 2017, through September 30, 2018. Of the total distribution, Mount Rainier National Park received $687,978, North Cascades National Park received $398,668, and Olympic National Park received $473,363.
At Mount Rainier National Park, the WNPF distributions enable projects such as the Fisher reintroduction, volunteer programs and the critical restoration of a search-and-rescue cabin. In North Cascades National Park, they enable projects such as the beloved Cascade butterfly project, campground enhancements and important safety equipment for rangers. And in Olympic National Park, they enable projects such as scientific glacier tracking, “Adventures in Your Big Backyard” youth programs and the Kalaloch/Quinault trail accessibility project. WNPF raises money to support 50-75 priority park projects annually.
“It has been a banner year for Washington’s National Park Fund in that we have been able to distribute more funds than ever to the cherished national parks in our backyard,” said Laurie Ward, CEO of WNPF. “Our goal is to raise even more funds in 2019 to help ensure these three national parks remain vibrant and thriving.”
WNPF is the only philanthropic organization dedicated solely to these three national parks and 100 percent of the donations stay in Washington State for this purpose. Founded by former governor and senator Dan Evans and legendary mountaineer Lou Whittaker, WNPF has awarded more than $5.3 million in the last nine years to support these national parks.
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