In 2005, fewer park rangers, closed visitor centers and new management policies were threatening natural resources and visitor safety in Mount Rainier, Olympic and Crater Lake National Parks. Meanwhile, the parks were also facing funding shortages and political attacks.
The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) came to M+R for help. Our Seattle team stepped in to manage NPCA’s 2005 Northwest summer public outreach campaign – Tracking Teddy. Our organizers and volunteers traveled to 8 different parks and collected over 5,000 park visitor comments in support of our national parks. We also built a coalition of 20 rural chambers of commerce and generated over a dozen pro-park protection articles, editorials and radio spots in important media outlets around the Northwest. Our outreach culminated in a successful Congressional field hearing in Seattle, where we prepared local experts and opinion leaders to testify on behalf of protecting the parks and earned the NPCA added press coverage and support.
