CNPSR Signs Letter to Secretary Kempthorne on FY2009 Budget

The Honorable Dirk Kempthome
Secretary of the Interior
U.S. Department of the Interior

November 26, 2007

Dear Secretary Kempthome,

As a coalition of national park partners, outdoor recreation organizations and industry
associations, corporations, and national park supporters from across the country, we thank you
for spearheading and leading the National Parks Centennial Initiative. As you are well aware,
launching the Centennial Initiative marked but the first of many steps toward repairing and
improving the parks over the next decade leading up to their Centennial in 2016. In addition to
supporting the increased park funding which is integral to the Initiative, we are very enthusiastic
about the potential for its Centennial Challenge component to involve a broad spectrum of the
American people in a partnership to protect and enhance our national parks, and we see a
tremendous opportunity to build additional support for the parks through this effort.

The budget you requested for the national parks in FY 2008 set the stage to begin addressing the serious funding shortfalls under which the parks have been forced to operate for decades. If
approved by Congress and signed into law by the President, this funding will help bring rangers
back into the parks, increase resource protection and help to educate and inspire the over 270
million people who visit the parks every year. As you know, a sustained financial commitment
like that proposed in FY 2008 is imperative in succeeding years if the parks are to be made
whole and safely and efficiently run.

We continue to work with allies across the nation in gaining support for the National Parks
Centennial Challenge. In order to sustain the momentum that has been built toward establishing
a Centennial Challenge program among the philanthropic community, it is essential for the
federal government to continue to demonstrate its increased financial commitment to the
National Park System by providing another strong park budget request for FY 2009.

It is in this spirit we ask you to continue to support an equally strong request in the President's
FY 2009 budget for the national parks as that proposed last year. Last year you requested an
increase of over $250 million for the operations of the national parks. We encourage you to
request a similar increase for park operations in the upcoming fiscal year. We hope the
multitude of other park funding needs, including the backlog in maintenance and priority land
acquisition will also be addressed in the President's FY 2009 budget.

There is significant bipartisan support and political momentum to help the parks through the
National Parks Centennial Initiative. We greatly appreciate your leadership in this effort and we
look forward to continuing to work with you and the Administration on this historic opportunity
for these irreplaceable national treasures.

Sincerely,

Sally Jewell, President and CEO, REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.)
Greg Moore, Executive Director, Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
Derrick Crandall, President, American Recreation Coalition
Marla O'Byrne, President, Friends of Acadia
Roger Dow, President & CEO, Travel Industry Association
Charles A. Money, Executive Director, Alaska Natural History Association
Donna Asbury, Executive Director, Association of Partners for Public Lands
Bill Wade, Chair of the Executive Council, Coalition of National Park Service Retirees
Curt Buchholtz, Executive Director, Rocky Mountain Nature Association
William H. Meadows, President, The Wilderness Society
Tom Kiernan, President, National Parks Conservation Association
Stephen A. Briganti, President & CEO, The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, Inc.
Dale Penny, President and CEO, Student Conservation Association
Leslie Mattson-Emerson, President, Grand Teton National Park Foundation
Diana Saathoff, Executive Director, Mount Rushmore National Memorial Society
Nancy Downer, Executive Director, Joshua Tree National Park Association
Mark Singelton, Chairman, Outdoor Alliance
Denny O'Brien, Executive Director, Acadia Partners for Science & Learning
Bob Hansen, President, The Yosemite Fund
Eamon O'Byrne, Executive Director, San Francisco Maritime National Park Association
Kay Parish, Executive Director, Friends of Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military
Park
Fiona Laird, Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Communications, Unilever Americas
David J. Guy, Chief Executive Officer, Yosemite Association
Jeff Allen, Executive Director, Crater Lake National Park Trust
Eleanor Kittelson, Executive Director, Washington's National Park Fund
Courtney Lyons-Garcia, Executive Director, Friends of Big Bend National Park
Derry McBride, National Affairs & Legislation Committee Chair, Garden Club of America
Cory MacNulty, Executive Director, Voyageurs National Park Association
Deb Yandala, Executive Director, Cuyahoga Valley National Park Association
Karen Eccles, Executive Director, Cabrillo National Monument Foundation
David Startzell, Executive Director, Appalachian Trail Conservancy
David Blacker, Executive Director, Death Valley Natural History Association
Kathleen O'Connor, President, Minute Man National Park Association
Debbie Wilson, Executive Director, Lewis & Clark National Park Association
Richard Coon, President, Recreation Vehicle Industry Association
John J. Reynolds, Board of Directors, Association ofPartners for Public Lands
Don RNaimoli, Chairman, Friends of Valley Forge Park
Susan Chandoha, Executive Director, Los Compadres de San Antonio Missions National
Historical Park
Matthew Logan, President, C&O Canal Trust
Steve Baldwin, Executive Director, Black Hills Parks & Forests Association
Frank Hugelmeyer, President, Outdoor Industry Association
Louise Carlin, Executive Director, Kansas Park Trust, Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve
Mike Hayden, Secretary Kansas Dept. Wildlife & Parks & Kansas Park Trust, Chair
David A. Grove, Executive Director & CEO, Jefferson National Parks Association
David Brown, Executive Director, America Outdoors
Mike Boren, Executive Director, Big Bend Natural History Association
Gary Kiedaisch, Sr. Advisor, The Silverfem Group (Fonner CEO, The Coleman Company)
Thorn Dammrich, President, National Marine Manufacturers Association
Joseph Fassler, Chainnan, National Park Hospitality Association
Sue Bray, Executive Director, The Good Sam Club
Joe Kessler, President, Friends of Virgin Islands National Park
Linda Profaizer, President, National Association ofRV Parks & Campgrounds
Lee Sheaffer, President, Potomac Appalachian Trail Club
Jim Petruzzi, Executive Director, Point Reyes National Seashore Association
Linda Appanaitis, Executive Director, Redwood Park Association
Caroline Beteta, Chainnan, Western States Tourism Policy Council
Mike Molino, President, Recreation Vehicle Dealers Association
Bob Warren, Chainnan, National Alliance of Gateway Communities
Katie Nyberg, Executive Director, Mississippi River Fund
Jason Morris, Vice President, Yosemite National Institutes
Stan Brady, President, Friends of the Cape Cod National Seashore
CC: Jim Nussle, Director ofthe Office of Management and Budget
Lynn Scarlett, Deputy Secretary, Department ofthe Interior
Mary Bomar, Director, National Park Service
James L. Connaughton, Chainnan, Council on Environmental Quality