Dear Friend,

Summer is here, and so is the busy season for our national parks. America turns 250 this July and our Mid-Atlantic parks are at the center of both the celebration and the fight. Here are some things all park advocates in our region need to know.

It's time to Unite for Parks. NPCA launched its United by Parks campaign to commemorate America's 250th anniversary through the lens of our national parks, connecting Americans across communities, imagining what's at stake, and mobilizing people to protect them.

Our region's parks tell the whole American story. This summer, we're asking you to be part of telling it. Sign the United by Parks pledge and share it with a friend before the Fourth.

We need your help protecting the National Mall. Workers began surveying Memorial Circle earlier this month as the first step toward constructing a proposed 250-foot arch between Arlington National Cemetery and the Lincoln Memorial.

The arch would permanently alter one of the most visited and historically significant landscapes in the world, disrupting the sacred viewshed between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery where generations of veterans and visitors have stood in reflection. It bypasses the Commemorative Works Act process, skips the required environmental and historic preservation review, and sets a dangerous precedent for forcing political monuments onto park land without congressional approval or meaningful public input.

We need your voice. Tell decision-makers to reject the Triumphal Arch.

The report tells a stark story. Our parks face threats from all sides: noise and light pollution, air and water quality degradation, sprawling transmission infrastructure, and industrial development creeping up to and inside park boundaries. In the Mid-Atlantic, Virginia sits at the epicenter, already the data center capital of the world with development up 500% since 2015. Proposed transmission towers up to 200 feet tall would cut through the Appalachian Trail and Harpers Ferry. Industrial development is proposed inside Prince William Forest Park. And water withdrawals from the Potomac to cool these facilities could reach 200 million gallons a day. Read the full report.

Improving the Visitor Experience at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park
Harpers Ferry National Historical Park welcomed more than half a million visitors in 2025, and managing that growth well matters for the park and the surrounding community that depends on it. This spring, NPCA hosted a Parking Summit bringing together elected leaders, business owners, agency representatives, and community advocates to tackle one of the most practical challenges a thriving park faces: getting visitors in, out, and around without overwhelming the neighborhood.

Have you had a good or bad experience visiting a park this year? We want to hear from you. Email us at [email protected].

He’ll be supporting our Appalachian Field Office this summer in work to mitigate wildlife vehicle collisions and promote safe wildlife crossings in and around national parks in West Virginia.

NPCA Heads to Capitol Hill. This spring, hundreds of NPCA volunteers from across the country, including our Mid-Atlantic Regional Leadership Council and Young Leaders Council, traveled to Washington, D.C. This was the perfect time to come together and mobilize over the many threats that our parks face. From staffing reductions to the rewriting and sanitizing of American history and science, NPCA with the help of our supporters, were able to demand action from Congress for the needs of our parks ahead of the summer months.

Next time you can join us. We’re searching for the newest members of our Young Leaders Council. We invite young professionals who are 18+ from across the Mid-Atlantic to apply to our Young Leaders Council! If you or someone you know is a young person who has an interest in national parks and advocacy, we welcome you to apply! The Young Leaders Council Common Application for the upcoming cohort is due on June 15th.

📖 What we’re reading this month:

• WHYY reported on the City of Philadelphia recognizing the inaugural Ona “Oney” Judge Day, commemorating the date in 1796 when Ona Judge successfully escaped enslavement after fleeing President George Washington’s House.

• In “Civil War Memory,” historian Kevin Levin writes about Gettysburg's new 160-acre grassland restoration project along Cemetery Ridge, arguing that every decision about what to plant and what to clear is not just ecological work but an act of historical interpretation that shapes how future visitors understand the battle.

• VPM's new documentary “Shenandoah” took five years to make, with exclusive access to the park's most restricted areas — and is a beautiful reminder of what we're fighting to protect. Watch the film.

• Bay Journal did a deep dive on how long the Potomac will feel the effects of January's sewage spill — the short answer is we don't yet know, and scientists warn the river's dead zone this summer could be worse as a result.

• Politico covered the latest proposal to bulldoze the National Mall: the Trump administration's plan to build a National Garden of American Heroes in West Potomac Park, near the Tidal Basin, again bypassing the approvals process that typically governs Washington's monumental core.

A Celebration in Philadelphia. After years of restoration work, the First Bank of the United States at Independence National Historical Park will open again to the public. Built in 1797, it is the oldest bank building in the country and one of the great untold stories of early American finance and democracy. The reopening is the result of a partnership between the National Park Service and the Independence Historical Trust, made possible by Legacy Restoration Fund dollars authorized through the Great American Outdoors Act. Make sure to visit this summer and read our latest report on the continued investments underway at this park.

Free Film Screening on Capitol Hill. On July 15, NPCA is co-hosting “From the Hill to the Horizon” at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center, a free film showing and discussion on national parks conservation and funding. The film follows former Maryland Congresswoman Donna Edwards as she travels to national parks, making the case for why public lands are for everyone. Space is limited. View the trailer and reserve your spot today.

Thank you for being an advocate for national parks!

Sincerely,

Jayda Hayman
Delaware River Field Representative