2023 Park Needs

2023 Park Needs

Each year, the park asks Friends to support special projects and programs that would otherwise go unfulfilled. Your gifts help fund these important and critical requests. Please consider joining in the quest to meet our mission to inspire people to love and preserve our Southeast Utah National Parks and Monuments.

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Conservation

The desert ecosystems that comprise these parks surprise many with their incredible biodiversity and fragility. Many park flora and fauna are considered rare, threatened, or endangered. Friends of Arches and Canyonlands supports the protection of these wild places by:

  • Protecting Our Night Skies
  • Preserving and protecting vital water resources
  • Human waste disposal in highly sensitive sites

Education Programming

We offer opportunities for youth to connect with themselves, their peers, NPS staff, and nature in the parks. We aim to plant the seeds that sprout into a love for these inspiring places.

  • Youth programs for kids and teens throughout much of the Colorado Plateau region
  • Moab Dark Skies (Link)

Visitor Safety

Over 2 million people visit the 4 park units each year. The number of searches and rescues continues to increase. It is essential to fully train and equip park personnel and volunteers. Often, an equipment need must be fulfilled urgently. As a park partner, we can fix the issue much quicker than the federal funding processes allow. A hasty response is lifesaving.

  • Search & Rescue (SAR) supplies and equipment
  • SAR training

Volunteers

Through the Volunteers in Parks (VIP) program, hundreds of individuals contribute thousands of hours of volunteer service every year and support virtually all phases of park operations. Friends of Arches and Canyonlands provides funding for needs like:

  • Volunteers-in-Parks program supplies and equipment
  • Volunteer appreciation events
  • Promotional support for volunteer recruitment

Visitor Experience

We believe that fostering a great visitor experience is central to our mission. If we want to inspire people to love and preserve these iconic places, they must be encouraged to have a great experience. As trends in society evolve and visitor numbers increase, FOACP assists in filling the gaps for ad hoc needs.

  • Hovenweep Centennial events support (see entire list of events)
  • Educational equipment for solar viewing
  • Visitor center Wi-Fi

NPS Staff Housing

Affordable housing is a pressing issue in Moab, the gateway community to the parks. Since 2019, FOACP has provided affordable housing options for Arches seasonal staff. Seasonal staff are the lifeblood of the parks and essential to their operation. Simply put, seasonal staff keep parks open. Friends of Arches and Canyonlands supports:

  • Ongoing maintenance
  • Property taxes
  • Major improvements.

*A special thanks to an anonymous donor and Canyonlands Natural History Association for aiding in the monumental purchase of this property.

 

Total 2023 Park Support requested from Friends of Arches and Canyonlands Parks:          $464,000

 

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