Washington’s National Park Fund is the official nonprofit partner to Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic National Parks, raising private support to protect, study and deepen people’s connections with these special places. Our parks are for everyone.
The National Park Service’s budget is determined by Congress through the annual appropriations process. The budget given to Mount Rainier, North Cascades, and Olympic National Parks seldom keeps pace with the parks’ needs for maintaining infrastructure, providing for needed maintenance in the parks, salaries for park rangers, and so much more. This is why groups like Washington’s National Park Fund exist. We fill gaps in much-needed funding. We fund programs and projects that enhance visitors’ experiences, provide research dollars, rebuild trails, bring in volunteers and improve accessibility.
Our role – and your opportunity – is to add support for critical, underfunded projects and programs that benefit the park experience for all, so that our parks can continue to thrive for years to come.
Each year, the three park superintendents and their staff identify critical projects in need of support. With our community, WNPF raises the funds to make these projects a reality. Together, we sustain between 30 and 40 projects and programs each year that would otherwise go unfunded.
Advancing Science and Research
Protecting and ensuring the safety of precious native plants, animals, and aquatic vertebrates, understanding shrinking glaciers and more
Improving Visitors’ Experiences
Funding trail maintenance, improved wayfinding signage, and search and rescue while enabling more engagement with park rangers
Expanding Volunteerism and Stewardship
Supporting responsible planning and management of park resources through a dedicated team of park volunteers and champions
Providing For Youth and Family Programs
Helping create opportunities for people from all backgrounds to experience, learn to care for and protect park resources
YOUTH AND FAMILIES
Science field trips to Olympic gives kids who may not otherwise ever experience their parks the opportunity to explore them by stepping into the shoes of a real-life scientist for the day. “This opportunity gives students a sense of ownership of our public lands. It helps them see that this is their national park, it’s in their backyard, and ultimately helps create stewards of this land for the future,” says Park Ranger Jared Low.
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of donations kept in Washington state for our three national parks
awarded in the last decade to fund priority projects in the parks
completed each year in Mount Rainier, North Cascades and Olympic
support Mount Rainier annually with the Volunteer Program*
*2,000 volunteers provide 70,000 hours of volunteer service every year as part of Mount Rainier National Park’s Volunteer Program. WNPF provides the largest portion of funding – roughly 2/3 – annually. We are proud to provide support for impactful volunteer programs in all three of our parks, enabling individuals to give back to the parks they love in more ways than one.
Washington’s National Park Fund has awarded nearly $6 million to the parks in the last 10 years. Together, we have funded critical search and rescue equipment, countless miles of trail maintenance, programs that provide wilderness access to underserved communities, wildlife studies, meadow restoration teams, the removal of invasive species, shrinking glacier studies and many other projects.
See the full list of projects we’ve funded over the years.
Cover photo: Ruby Mountain campsite in North Cascades National Park, and footer photo (below): peaks in Olympic National Park; both by Nate Brown 📷