National parks are rooted in natural, historic, and cultural wonders, but they originated as a novel idea, and their future depends on continued innovation. Often called "America's best idea," the national park concept set the blueprint for protecting extraordinary places and sharing them with the world.
With the support of generous donors and partners, NPF is helping parks carry that spirit forward by creating more room to innovate, collaborate, and experiment. These grants provide funding directly to those who know parks best, empowering them to test new approaches, implement scalable technologies, and share what they learn so parks are stronger, and visitors can have better experiences.
NPF has received more than 200 proposals for innovation funding so far. Among those submissions, 18 projects were identified for immediate funding, with an initial focus on real-time information and traffic management, connectivity, data-informed decision-making, and more. These first projects include the following:
* Friends of Acadia and Schoodic Institute will work with Acadia National Park to deploy sensors, predictive analytics, and communication tools that give visitors and park managers real-time information about congestion and wait times along key corridors.
* Grand Canyon Conservancy will expand the ways that visitors can engage with Grand Canyon National Park by increasing connectivity and introducing digitally integrated interpretation of the park, enabling visitors to learn more and go deeper into the story of the iconic landscape.
* Glacier National Park Conservancy will help Glacier National Park deploy bypass lane transponders and badge readers at park entrances, automate passenger counts on shuttle buses, and install real-time parking displays at visitor centers
* Friends of Virgin Islands National Park will install Starlink satellite internet at seven land sites and five marine sites in the remote Virgin Islands National Park to offer connectivity for visitors and to improve emergency communications.
Funding for the inaugural cohort came from NPF's generous donors and partners, including Lilly Endowment Inc. View the full list of projects here.
NPF first invested $2 million in pilot projects led by the National Park Service and Preservation Maryland to advance technologies and experiment with novel equipment across multiple park sites in support of emergency response, asset management, and more efficient park operations. Interest in the pilot proved the need and potential impact of continued, dedicated investment in innovative technologies and creative solutions.
With growing support from NPF's donors and partners, including Robert and Kitty Brunswick, Mr. Cody J Smith, The Ball Foundation, and Arconic Foundation, NPF will award additional grants to parks and park partners in the coming months to support innovation in other focus areas, including natural resource management and interpretation.
NPF will also facilitate learning groups that bring together grant recipients to share information, ideas, and lessons learned to inform and inspire other parks.
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Check out our online trail guides:
- Glacier National Park: HikinginGlacier.com
- Grand Teton National Park: TetonHikingTrails.com
- Rocky Mountain National Park: RockyMountainHikingTrails.com
