1200 5th Avenue
Suite 1118
Seattle, WA 98101
OR, WA
Located in Seattle, NPCA’s Northwest Regional Office works to protect the natural beauty, wild landscapes, diverse wildlife and rich heritage of the national parks in Oregon and Washington. Places like Mount Rainier and Crater Lake capture our imagination, while sites like the Lewis and Clark National Historical Park and the recently designated Manhattan Project National Historical Park remind us of our storied past. The variety of landscapes, both natural and cultural, and the proximity of parks to urban centers contribute to the unique character of the Cascadian region.
The staff of the Northwest Regional Office work on a range of critical park protection issues. Whether seeking the restoration of grizzly bears to the North Cascades, the protection of natural soundscapes in Olympic’s Hoh Rain Forest, or the preservation of wilderness at Crater Lake, the team’s campaigns succeed by partnering with new voices, building ties in local communities, and pushing for the advancement of the national park idea.
Northwest Regional Office Field Reports
These field reports provide timely updates and perspectives on issues of interest to our members and supporters in Oregon and Washington.
See more ›The Northwest staff also contribute to NPCA’s broader efforts to secure adequate funding for our national parks, to deepen our relationships with veteran service organizations by engaging this audience in recreation, service and advocacy, and broadening and strengthening support for our parks by engaging young adults. Buoyed by the establishment of Washington’s newest national park, Manhattan Project at Richland, they push for more inclusive storytelling in our parks and fight to get younger and more diverse audiences into the parks to broaden the base of national park supporters for years to come.
It’s an exciting time in the Northwest, and we hope you’ll join our efforts to preserve and enhance our park system for present and future generations
Beauty and Depth
Measuring nearly 2,000 feet deep, Crater Lake is the deepest body of fresh water in the U.S. and the ninth-deepest lake in the world.
More about the Northwest region
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Read more about Support Grizzly Bear Recovery in the North Cascades
NPCA at Work Support Grizzly Bear Recovery in the North Cascades Help the threatened grizzly bear thrive again in its native Pacific Northwest home.
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Read more about Keep Crater Lake Wild
NPCA at Work Keep Crater Lake Wild A wilderness designation will preserve Crater Lake, its wildlife and its outdoor recreation opportunities forever. It's time to give this iconic park the protection it deserves.
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Read more about Save the Wild Natural Sounds of the Olympic Peninsula
NPCA at Work Save the Wild Natural Sounds of the Olympic Peninsula The Hear Our Olympics campaign seeks to protect the natural sounds of Olympic National Park, an ancient refuge from noise pollution in the Northwest.
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Read more about Noisy Helicopter Training and National Parks Don't Mix
NPCA at Work Noisy Helicopter Training and National Parks Don't Mix Noisy helicopters and landing zones do not belong next door to our national parks, especially one with grizzly habitat and treasured wilderness. The Army has alternatives for training--and they use them now--but there is only one North Cascades National Park.
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The national parks are the hearts of every community, they are parts of the history. More so every park relates to the culture of the people. They are the real beauty within ... — Edita Samson
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Read more about What’s Next for Parks in a Second Trump Administration?
Blog Post What’s Next for Parks in a Second Trump Administration? Since 1919, NPCA has been an independent voice, outside of the government and nonpartisan. We will continue to be a strong, unwavering voice for our national parks.
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Read more about Scary! Tips for Carving Up a National Park-Themed Halloween
Blog Post Scary! Tips for Carving Up a National Park-Themed Halloween Reflect your park-loving personality this Halloween with creative ideas for jack-o’-lanterns, costumes and snacks while learning some cool facts about our parks.
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Read more about An Uncertain Future for Our National Parks?
Blog Post An Uncertain Future for Our National Parks? NPCA and our supporters urge Congress to adequately fund our national parks and continue to address the $23 billion maintenance backlog so parks can thrive for generations to come.
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Read more about Go Fish: 4 Great National Parks for Wetting a Line
Blog Post Go Fish: 4 Great National Parks for Wetting a Line A keen angler can sniff out places to fish at nearly every national park. One staff member shares his top picks, from a backyard favorite to bucket-list wishes.
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Read more about Ancient Forests of the Olympic Peninsula
Land Based Trip Ancient Forests of the Olympic Peninsula Welcome to the Pacific Northwest! From the city of Seattle, make your way to Olympic National Park, one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It is in this landscape that natural wonders, complex ecosystems and history come together to create a truly magnificent experience. NPCA experts, accompanying guides and key local partners will show us a lesser-known side of the park as we explore by foot and on water. We’ll visit pristine beaches, crystal blue lakes and rainforests, leaving with a deeper understanding of this landscape and its ongoing challenges.
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Read more about 6 Parks That Will Benefit Most from a New Rule on Old-Growth Forests
Blog Post 6 Parks That Will Benefit Most from a New Rule on Old-Growth Forests NPCA supports the U.S. Forest Service’s plan to protect rare, old-growth forests and leave our largest trees standing for future generations. Here’s why and where to find these majestic trees.
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Read more about 3 Reasons NPCA's 2024 ‘Pride in Our Parks’ Was Our Best Yet
Blog Post 3 Reasons NPCA's 2024 ‘Pride in Our Parks’ Was Our Best Yet Couldn’t make it to NPCA’s June events celebrating LGBTQ+ pride? Here’s a recap that we hope inspires you to join us next year.
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Read more about 5 Park Landmarks with Curious July 4 Histories
Blog Post 5 Park Landmarks with Curious July 4 Histories What sings ‘America the Beautiful’ more loudly than the natural landscape of our country? Here are five distinctive national park features named for events that took place on this U.S. holiday.
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Read more about Preserving Chinatowns: How Many Are at Risk of Being Lost?
Blog Post Preserving Chinatowns: How Many Are at Risk of Being Lost? The National Park Service has said Asian American and Pacific Islander history is “dramatically underrepresented” among registered landmarks and historic places. NPCA and other groups are seeking to correct that.
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Read more about 5 Major Victories for Wildlife, Water and Public Lands
Blog Post 5 Major Victories for Wildlife, Water and Public Lands After years of advocacy work, NPCA scored massive wins for Alaska’s caribou, conservation of public lands and waterways, and protection of national parks from future oil and gas drilling.
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Read more about The ‘Quiet Crisis’ Facing National Parks
Blog Post The ‘Quiet Crisis’ Facing National Parks NPCA is calling on Congress to support recently introduced legislation that would provide $250 million for national parks’ long-underfunded cultural resources and history programs.
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Read more about Foundation Relations Manager
Staff Kori Sparks As Foundation Relations Manager, Kori helps create and manage a successful foundation fundraising program alongside her colleagues on the Foundation Relations team. She manages foundation grants for the Northwest, Alaska, and Sun Coast Regional Offices along with our Veteran and Community engagement programs.
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Read more about Communications Manager
Staff and Media Personnel Caitlyn Burford Caitlyn Burford joined NPCA in 2023 as a communications manager representing the Northwest, Southwest, and Pacific regions, along with NPCA’s work on national energy policy.
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Read more about Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 10
Resource Regional Haze Pollution in EPA Region 10 Strong state regional haze plans are critical to restoring clean air and clear skies to treasured places like Mount Rainier, Crater Lake and Olympic National Parks. Unfortunately, states in EPA’s Region 10 are failing to adequately cut air pollution impacting these parks and wilderness areas and communities. EPA’s Region 10, also known as the Pacific Northwest region, includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.
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Read more about Ozone Fact Sheet
Fact Sheet Ozone Fact Sheet Ozone threatens the health of park visitors and contributes to the disease and death of park species such as the black cherry tree in the East and aspen and ponderosa pine in the West. National park ecosystems across the country are already showing damage from ground-level ozone pollution.
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Read more about Northwest Regional Office Field Reports
Report Northwest Regional Office Field Reports These field reports provide timely updates and perspectives on issues of interest to our members and supporters in Oregon and Washington.
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Read more about Hiking with Spoons
The Secret Lives of Parks Hiking with Spoons An advocate in the Pacific Northwest turned a frustrating hike into a mission to make parks more welcoming for the millions of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
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Read more about Park Talks
Regional Events Park Talks Join our NPCA community for virtual "Park Talks" to learn about our work and ways you can get involved.
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Read more about Growler Tracker
Resource Growler Tracker Have you heard the Growlers while visiting Olympic National Park? Let us know about it using our Growler Tracker tool.
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Read more about Hear Our Olympics
Video Hear Our Olympics Come explore the incredible soundscape of Olympic National Park in our new short film.
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Read more about 10 Ways to Be a Park Advocate
Resource 10 Ways to Be a Park Advocate Want to be an advocate for parks, but don't know where to start?
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Read more about Time for the Grizzly?
Video Time for the Grizzly? Now is the time to restore the North Cascades grizzly bear! The North Cascades Ecosystem is the only remaining grizzly bear population on the West Coast of the contiguous United States. Although grizzlies have lived in the North Cascades for thousands of years, biologists estimate that fewer than 10 remain today, making it the most at-risk bear population in North America.
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Read more about Associate Director, Northwest Region
Staff Colin Deverell Colin is the Associate Director of the Northwest Regional Office in Seattle, Washington.
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Read more about Wanted: Grizzly Bears?
Video Wanted: Grizzly Bears? NPCA is a proud sponsor of this public education video about the elusive North Cascades grizzly bear narrated by ecologist and filmmaker Chris Morgan.
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Read more about Park on the Edge: Funding Shortfalls at Olympic National Park
Report Park on the Edge: Funding Shortfalls at Olympic National Park Olympic National Park, one of the most visited national parks in the country, currently receives only approximately 60% of the funds it needs to adequately serve visitors, maintain roads and trails, and protect internationally recognized natural resources.
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Read more about Regional Director
Staff Rob Smith Rob serves as the Regional Director of NPCA's Northwest Regional Office in Seattle, Washington. Rob’s environmental work has included work on land and wildlife protection, climate change, and air quality through lobbying officials and organizing local support for conservation measures.
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Read more about Senior Program Manager, Northwest Region
Staff Graham Taylor Joining the Northwest Regional Office in the summer of 2015, Graham stays busy connecting people to parks in his role as Senior Program Manager.
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Read more about Director, Communications
Staff and Media Personnel Kati Schmidt Kati Schmidt is based in Oakland, CA, and leads media outreach and communications for the Pacific, Northwest, Northern Rockies, Alaska, and Southwest regions, along with NPCA's national wildlife initiatives.
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Read more about Oregon Caves National Monument And Preserve
Fact Sheet Oregon Caves National Monument And Preserve The Oregon Caves National Monument and Preserve expansion will add 4,070 additional acres of federal land to the existing monument to better protect the larger watershed and the cave system.
Explore Our Parks
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A–H
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I-O
- John Day Fossil Beds National Monument ›
- Lake Chelan National Recreation Area ›
- Lake Roosevelt National Recreation Area ›
- Lewis & Clark National Historical Park ›
- Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail ›
- Mount Rainier National Park ›
- North Cascades National Park ›
- Olympic National Park ›
- Oregon Caves National Monument & Preserve ›
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P-Z
Preserve Our Parks
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