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• Press Release Parks Group Welcomes Western Solar Plan, Calls for Responsible Development to Protect National Parks and Surrounding Landscapes Aug 2024 “We see the dramatic impact of climate change on our national parks every day. That’s why we need a transition to renewable energy that makes sure solar development is sited quickly and where it makes the most sense, minimizing harm to national parks and the communities they support."–Matt Kirby, NPCA's Senior Energy and Landscape Conservation Director
• Blog Post Responsible Solar Power Sep 2012 | By Guy DiDonato Location, location, location. These simple but wise words apply to homebuyers and business owners alike. They also apply to energy developers—some places just are not suitable for industrial-scale projects, including lands adjacent to our national parks.
• Blog Post 5 Reasons the ‘Lower Energy Costs Act’ Is a Bad Idea Mar 2023 | By Charlie Olsen, Daniel Hart A proposed new energy bill expands mining and fossil fuel production at the expense of our public lands, hurting our national parks and some of the most irreplaceable resources they protect. Let’s not let it become law – the long-term price is too great. 
• Policy Update Position on S. 4753, Energy Permitting Reform Act Jul 2024 NPCA submitted the following position to members of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ahead of a business meeting scheduled for July 31, 2024.
• Policy Update Comments on the Energy Policy Modernization Act Jul 2015 NPCA’s positions on several potential amendments to and provisions in the Energy Policy Modernization Act, as submitted to the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.
• Press Release Landmark Settlement Requires Feds to Revisit Plan for Coal-friendly Energy Corridors Across West Jul 2012 Feds Urged to Avoid Sensitive Lands, Support Renewable Energy
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 209 & TAP American Energy Discussion Draft Feb 2023 NPCA submitted the following position to members of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ahead of a hearing scheduled for February 28, 2023.
• Policy Update Position on 2016 Energy Legislation Jun 2016 NPCA submitted the following position to members of the House of Representatives designated as conferees on energy legislation.
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 538 Native American Energy Act Oct 2015 NPCA urges members of the House of Representatives to vote NO on H.R. 538, the Native American Energy Act. This position was sent to all members of the House of Representatives ahead of a floor vote on October 8, 2015.
• Press Release Victory for the Appalachian Trail: Energy Companies Cancel Atlantic Coast Pipeline Jul 2020 National park advocates joined communities along the trail in calling for an end to this risky, irresponsible energy project, and their voices made a difference.
• Policy Update Position on Draft Onshore Energy Bills Jun 2018 NPCA submitted the following positions to members of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources ahead of a hearing scheduled for June 6, 2018.
• Press Release Landmark Energy Plan Protects Arches, Canyonlands National Parks Jul 2016 Plan underscores economic importance of national parks, provides model for coexistence of energy development and park visitation
• Blog Post Parks in Peril: Can We Protect Utah's Desert Parks from Energy Development? Nov 2015 | By Nicholas Lund After 8 years of work by a movement of energy advocates, Arches and Canyonlands could soon gain unprecedented protections from oil and gas development. But we need your help.
• Policy Update Views on S. 2012: Energy Policy Modernization Act and Several Amendments Feb 2016 NPCA submitted the following position on several potential amendments to and provisions in S. 2012, Energy Policy Modernization Act, during consideration of the bill on the Senate floor.
• Policy Update Position on S. 2012, the Energy Policy Modernization Act Apr 2016 NPCA submitted the following positions on several potential amendments to and provisions in S. 2012, Energy Policy Modernization Act, ahead of consideration on the Senate floor.
• Press Release There Will be Bird Deaths: California Energy Commission Announces Preliminary Approval for Solar Tower Near Joshua Tree National Park Sep 2014 Proposed decision to approve construction is dangerous to wildlife and park landscapes
• Press Release Plan for Energy Development in Southwest Colorado Moves Forward Dec 2016 Collaborative Planning Will Help Mesa Verde National Park
• Press Release Time is Now to Link President's Energy Strategy with Strong Protections for National Parks Mar 2015 Administration's Proposals on Right Track, But Need to Finalize Necessary Protections
• Press Release Draft Plan Lays Groundwork for Renewable Energy Development in the California Desert Sep 2014 Elected Officials, Business Owners, National Parks Group Call for More Thoughtful Planning, Public Involvement to Ensure a Conservation Legacy for the Region
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act Mar 2023 NPCA submitted the following position to members of the House of Representatives ahead of an expected floor vote the week of March 27, 2023.
• Blog Post Courts Rebuke the Trump Administration's Pro-Corporate Energy Agenda Apr 2019 | By Matthew Kirby A recent ruling by a federal judge to halt oil and gas drilling in the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans is the latest example of how the courts are slowing or reversing administration efforts to roll back policies and regulations that protect the environment.
• Press Release Trump Administration Signs Executive Orders to Fast Track Energy Infrastructure Permitting Apr 2019 Pipelines proposed near national parks would face less scrutiny under these new executive orders.
• Blog Post 2018 in Review: 5 Ways 'Energy Dominance' Threatens the Parks Dec 2018 | By Matthew Kirby Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke may be on his way out, but proposals he advanced and regulations his agency dismantled during his tenure will have long-lasting impacts for our parks and public lands.
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 8, North American Energy Security and Infrastructure Act Dec 2015 NPCA, along with partners, submitted the following position to the House of Representatives ahead of an anticipated floor vote the week of November 30, 2015.
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 4239, SECURE American Energy Act Nov 2017 NPCA submitted the following position to the House Committee on Natural Resources ahead of a markup scheduled for November 8, 2017.
• Press Release Finalized Moab Energy Plan Protects National Parks Dec 2016 New Administration Should Embrace Process Promoting Local Input on Federal Lands Leasing
• Press Release House Advances Legislation to Protect Grand Canyon and Greater Chaco Area from Reckless Energy Development Oct 2019 NPCA and tribal communities celebrate key win in ongoing fight to protect water, wildlife and sacred lands 
• Press Release Spoiled Parks: Top 12 National Parks Threatened by Trump Administration's Energy Agenda Oct 2019 Spoiled Parks explores how current leasing policies have scarred landscapes and threaten future harm to clean air, cultural heritage, wildlife and tourism economies.
• Policy Update NPCA Position on Energy Bills that Could Result in Harm to National Parks Mar 2024 NPCA sent the following positions to the House of Representatives ahead of anticipated votes scheduled for the week of March 18, 2024. 
• Policy Update Position on H.R. 2295, the National Energy Security Corridors Act Jun 2015 NPCA, along with the Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, Park Rangers for Our Lands, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, and the Southern Environmental Law Center, submitted the following positions on legislation considered by the House Natural Resources Committee during a markup on June 8, 2015.
• Staff and Government Affairs Daniel Hart Director of Clean Energy and Climate Policy As the Director of Clean Energy and Climate Resiliency Policy for the Government Affairs team, Daniel advocates for a clean energy transition on public lands and waters as well as climate policies to help protect and preserve parks.
• NPCA at Work Protect Mojave from the Soda Mountain Solar Project Developers have proposed building the Soda Mountain Solar Project, an industrial-scale renewable energy facility, less than one mile from the boundary of Mojave National Preserve. It would be the closest renewable energy project to a national park site in the entire southwestern United States, in the middle of a critical pathway for desert bighorn sheep.
• Jerry Otero Former Senior Energy Analyst Jerry was NPCA’s Senior Energy Analyst from 2015 to 2020.
• Matthew Kirby Former Senior Director, Energy and Landscape Conservation Matt has spent the last decade running campaigns to protect the public lands he loves. He oversaw NPCA's work to protect parks and the landscapes that surround them from energy development from 2018 to 2024.
• Victory Local Stakeholders Give Strong Protections to Arches and Canyonlands National Parks Plan finds a unique balance between conservation, recreation, and energy development, and shows just how much Utahans love their national parks.
• Report Green Budget 2013 This report, referred to as the Green Budget, highlights the environmental and conservation communities’ Fiscal Year 2013 National Funding Priorities. The Green Budget, prepared annually by a coalition of national environmental and conservation organizations,1 illustrates how federal investments can help meet the environmental challenges of a changing climate, develop our clean energy resources, and sustain our nation’s lands, waters, and other natural resources.
• Page Contact NPCA NPCA's Washington, D.C., headquarters is in an energy-efficient and environmentally friendly building in the Gallery Place-Chinatown neighborhood. NPCA has received Gold LEED certification for its D.C. headquarters.
• Eric Bontrager Former Senior Manager, Communications Eric Bontrager led communications outreach for NPCA's government affairs, clean air, energy, transportation, and veterans campaigns.
• Report The Alaska Citizen's Guide to Natural Gas Permitting This Guide highlights opportunities where citizens can influence agency decisions that affect the impacts and conditions of natural gas development. It encourages Alaskans to take an active role in preserving our public lands and to better ensure a well-informed, site-specific and historically-aware use of natural resources.
• NPCA at Work Protect Eagle Mountain from Dangerous Development Proposals Just outside the boundary of Joshua Tree National Park, the region known as Eagle Mountain has been at the center of controversy over inappropriate, harmful development proposals for years. Incorporating these lands into the park could help protect them from the latest threat, the Eagle Crest Pumped Storage Project. This massive energy development stands to pump millions of gallons of water from the fragile desert aquifer in and around the park.
• NPCA at Work Don’t Put Endangered Wildlife at Risk to Drill Big Cypress A private energy development company wants to conduct seismic testing on 70,000 acres within Big Cypress National Preserve for oil and gas development — paving the way for drilling to begin on an unprecedented scale on national park land.
• Resource NPCA’s National Park Advocacy Crash Course Glossary We’re breaking down the processes, the agencies, the acronyms and the systems.
• Letter Nearly 500 Organizations Have Signed On to a Letter Opposing Workforce Reductions at Public Land Management Agencies Full text of the letter:
• Report Turning Point Through individual stories from parks around the country, this report describes how air pollution harms our national treasures. The report also recommends ten specific steps that our government representatives and all of us can take to clean up harmful air pollution and protect our national parks for future generations.
• Staff and Government Affairs Tariq Zahran Director of Cultural Resources Tariq brings over ten years of expertise to NPCA, having worked in both the House and Senate, as well as in various NGOs. He joins NPCA as the Director of Cultural Resources in the Government Affairs department.
• NPCA at Work Room to Roam Yellowstone's bison are under threat from the moment they cross the park's boundary. Outdated management plans and misunderstandings have led to the routine roundup and slaughter of this wild icon of the American West.
• Partner Events 2026 Climate Ride Events Jan 2026 Join the movement and bike, hike or run for our national parks at one of this year's Climate Ride events.

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