Help Live: [MedicalConspiracies] Take action in the Gulf

National Parks Conservation Association

When my NPCA colleagues and I returned from our trip to the Gulf, we were shocked by what we saw. The sheer scope of the oil spill is devastating, and our national parks are even still in danger.

We've all seen the images on television and online--waters off the Gulf Coast thick with oil, white sand beaches stained red and brown, and crude-covered wildlife struggling for survival.

But nothing could prepare me for what I witnessed. I saw with my own eyes clean-up crews at Gulf Islands National Seashore courageously fighting the steady flow of oil and tarballs invading the once-pristine shoreline. They're working against the clock--every day, more oil washes ashore--and every day, the threat of oil moving even deeper into fragile wetlands becomes more real.

I can’t convey the heartbreak the Park Service staff is feeling as they see the oil's disastrous effects, just as things in the park had finally returned to normal after Hurricane Katrina.

The National Park Service is responsible for managing the cleanup in park waters, beaches and marshes--and this will take time, expertise, and resources. We will need to continue monitoring this effort to ensure the long-term protection for Gulf Islands and other national parks and their wildlife. At the same time, Congress now has the power to send the President oil spill legislation that funds land conservation in our national parks through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).

That’s why I need you to donate today to help the National Parks Conservation Association push Congress to fund LWCF ensuring the Park Service has the resources to purchase land and protect it for wildlife and visitors in the years to come.

Across the Gulf region, Park Service staff--with input from NPCA’s regional directors in the area--are finalizing plans to protect wildlife and habitat at other coastal national parks that could still be in harm’s way, and planning for the long-term monitoring and restoration efforts that will be necessary throughout the Gulf. Our parks need your help to survive this devastating tragedy.

With your emergency contribution we can turn our heartbreak and frustration into action — please stand with us and speak out for the parks today.

Thank you,

Tom Kiernan photo