Dear Friend of the National Parks,

In 2026, NPCA’s Texas and Oklahoma Regional Office will engage advocates to speak up for our parks, from Big Bend National Park to Big Thicket National Preserve. All our national park sites are iconic and inspirational places that protect our most beautiful landscapes, tell the story of our rich and complicated history, and provide a significant economic benefit to states and local communities.

Helping us uplift our national parks in Texas is our 2025-2026 Texas Young Leaders Advocacy Council cohort. We are excited to introduce this outstanding group of young professionals who are dedicating their time to advocate for our national parks. These leaders recently volunteered at the MLK Day of Service volunteer event at Big Thicket National Preserve in southeast Texas where they cleared brush around the visitor center, providing important maintenance for this area.

In December, NPCA and partners sponsored a longleaf pine planting volunteer day where 50 volunteers planted 4600 native grasses and 600 longleaf pine seedlings over a 70-acre portion of the Preserve. NPCA has sponsored this annual event for more than a decade, and the ongoing restoration effort will grow the park's native longleaf pine habitat important to the park's resilience and habitat for native species like turkey, quail and Red Cockaded Woodpecker.

The time volunteers give to support our parks is so important, even more now as our parks are significantly understaffed. Nationwide, our national parks lost 24% of their staff last year. The parks in our region are seeing similar staffing shortages. Big Thicket National Preserve is down nearly a quarter of staff, and Big Bend National Park is working with about half of their staff. Our newest national park site – Blackwell School National Historic Site in Marfa, still does not have any permanent employees. During this year, NPCA will continue to advocate for the parks to have sufficient staff to protect park resources and ensure a safe visitor experience.

NPCA is on the ground in other park communities across Texas and Oklahoma.

• We coordinate with the Marfa community, the National Park Service, and the Blackwell School Alliance to implement the Blackwell Blueprint. This collaborative community-driven vision for the future of Blackwell School National Historic Site will ensure the site is protected, resourced and uplifted as a place of education, memory and resilience for generations to come.

• We protect the 300 year-old buildings at the San Antonio Missions National Historical Park after helping to pass state legislation to give the park more resources to defend against the impacts of crime and vandalism.

• We lift up the stories of parks in Oklahoma from Chickasaw National Recreation Area to Washita Battlefield National Historic Site. Our region is grateful for the expertise and partnership with NPCA’s Tribal Policy Fellow, Katie Shea, for helping guide our expansion in the region.

• We advocate for park funding and staffing with regional volunteers in Washington, DC during National Park Advocacy Week. This year, we will celebrate our annual Salute to the Parks with our new President and CEO Tiernan Sittenfeld. Join us at this celebration of our national parks on April 15, 2026.

• We will host events in April 2026 in southeast Texas, San Antonio, and more for National Park Week.

I invite you to learn more about the regional parks on our webpage or take action to protect parks.

It is an honor to work with you to advocate for the protection and funding of our national parks. I look forward to sharing our progress this year!

Sincerely,

Cary Dupuy
Regional Director, Texas & Oklahoma