Saving America's Wilderness: The Largest Donation in National Parks History
Lilly Endowment has allocated $100 million to the National Parks Foundation (NPF) in order to save the most delicate ecosystems found in America's National Parks. While some national parks, like Biscayne Bay and the Channel Islands, were created to preserve relatively tiny areas of extremely fragile ecosystems, others, like Glacier or Canyonlands, are safeguarded to conserve entire tracts of unspoiled territory.Lilly Endowment Inc. has stated that the $100 million will be used to conserve ecosystems that are in immediate danger of deterioration. According to Will Shafroth, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation, which supports the over 400 sites managed by the National Park Service, the funds will be directed to meet the needs of areas beyond the 63 designated national parks, as reported by AP. Further Takeaway ~ (Source: Google Images) The NPF has been working on restoring wild trout species in western parks, protecting the most delicate ecosystems, and restoring coral reefs in Biscayne Bay National Park and other reef-bearing parks. Shafroth anticipates that the first round of grants from the Lilly gift will go toward these projects. A backlog of neglected maintenance in the national parks accumulated during most of the twenty-first century, reaching around $7 billion in needed repairs. The 116th Congress passed the Great American Outdoors Act, which was signed into law by President Trump in an effort to address this. It did this by permanently reauthorizing the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which is a mechanism that directs 50% of all proceeds from the sale of energy (coal, oil, and natural gas) on land owned by the federal government toward conservation grants. It was calculated that over five years, this would bring in $9.5 billion for the national parks. But according to a recent NPS reexamination of the maintenance requirements, around $24 billion in funding is required. More Number Of Sensitive Ecosystems Been Addressed Lately ~ (Source: Google Images) Given this, the NPF has started a fundraising campaign in an attempt to raise additional funds from private individuals. The first person to donate is Lilly. Lilly's philanthropic gift is especially important since, as with all federal agencies, the NPS is able to move quickly to handle urgent and vital projects as they wrangle over budget disputes and allocation. “Private philanthropy has been essential in closing the funding gap between park requirements and availability for more than 50 years. We can intensify our efforts to guarantee that our national parks are accessible to all and will be for future generations thanks to this donation.” Stated by Head of State Will Shafroth
