What is more American than a Bald Eagle calling, surrounded by the beauty and grandeur of America’s national parks (photos by Paul Konrad). Our national parks are filled with scenic vistas and essential wildlife habitat, such as this view of Mount Moran in Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming.

It’s National Park Week! A time to celebrate the birds and other wildlife, the beauty and grandeur, history and wild spirit of America’s National Parks. It’s also a moment to reflect on just how vital these public places are for wildlife that depends on them, for future generations to enjoy, and for all of us who find peace, inspiration, and connection in their vast landscapes. Think of Yellowstone and Grand Teton, the Great Smoky Mountains, Grand Canyon, Zion, Redwoods, Glacier, Everglades, Denali, and Yosemite to name a few of our iconic national parks. It’s also a time to appreciate the dedicated people who work tirelessly to protect our national park and provide a wealth of information for visitors.

Birding in our national parks is a unique experience in each park you are able to visit, and each visit tends to provide different birds or at least new birds to see and photograph. To learn more about events to commemorate National Park Week and view photos and videos posted by park visitors and staff, you can refer to NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service)

There is also a deeper message to share: The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) has been the leading voice in safeguarding our national parks, and recently they are sounding an alarm that our national park system and individual parks face staffing cuts, reduced park operations and resource protection, closures of facilities, and reduced access due to budget cuts. There is also an added threat of oil, gas, and mining developments that threaten the integrity of national monuments.

These concerns are not limited to national parks, considering that the National Wildlife Refuge System faces similar concerns and degradation, along with other public lands – land that “we the public” have set aside as protected spaces important to us and future generations – just as previous generations protected them for us. As President Theodore Roosevelt, who established the first national park and the first national wildlife refuge said and wrote: “Laws to protect small and harmless wildlife, especially birds, are indispensable.” Similarly, protecting the habitat to sustain birds and other animals is paramount, and that has been an important aspect of our American society and government. We must continue to keep our national parks intact and operating to share with all Americans and the interested people of the world who visit our parks annually.

While this article may seem outside of the norm for this publication, it is important that we don’t stand by and allow mismanagement of our public lands, especially our national parks and national wildlife refuges. These precious lands are paramount to the quality of birding experiences in every state, so as we Celebrate our national parks, let’s each Inform ourselves, and do what we can when we need to speak out in defense of our public lands and the people who protect them and keep them operating. Our public lands, and especially our national parks, are the soul of America.