For Immediate Release: Thursday, April 3, 2025
Contact: Doug Gordon | do**@***************es.com
Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks Announces Emily Thompson As New Executive Director
At This Critical Time For National Parks, Thompson Vows To Fight Funding And Staffing Cuts
The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks, a nonpartisan, non-profit organization made up of over 4,000 members, all of whom are current, former, and retired employees or volunteers of the National Park Service (NPS), announced today that Emily Thompson, an NPS veteran, will be the organization’s new Executive Director. Thompson takes over for Amy Gilbert Fehir who has led the Coalition for the last ten years.
Thompson, who was most recently Deputy Director of the Coalition, previously worked at park units across the country, from Washington, D.C. to Hawaii. Following her time with the National Park Service, Thompson transitioned into nonprofit management, serving as the Executive Director of a museum and historic site. In 2018, she joined the Coalition to lead communications and advocacy efforts before later stepping into the role of Deputy Director.
“It is an honor to take over from Amy at this critical time,” Thompson said. “And we will be doubling down on our fight to protect our national parks and oppose cuts to funding and staffing. National parks belong to all of us and they should be safe and accessible for everyone. But recent actions by the Administration have put parks and public lands at risk. While park visitation continues to rise, the Administration has dismantled and hindered the NPS workforce – with proposed mass reductions in force, and hiring freezes still underway. These cuts are already having an impact that will only get worse as we reach the busy season for parks across the country. We should be investing in national parks, not gutting them. And that is what our focus will be in the coming months.”
In the last two months the Coalition has:
- Won a preliminary injunction broadening a temporary restraining order and mandating the immediate reinstatement of terminated employees as part of their joint lawsuit against the Office of Personnel Management regarding the illegal firing of probationary-status employees.
- Joined with seven other groups in a letter to Interior Secretary Doug Burgum asking for a more thorough analysis before terminating several dozen agency leases that serve the public in numerous capacities.
- Testified in front of the House Natural Resources Committee Subcommittee on Federal Lands regarding the proposed FLASH Act (Federal Lands Amplified Security for the Homeland), arguing against Title 1, which has short-sighted one-size-fits-all mandates that would construct unnecessary roads, sap NPS budgets, create jurisdiction ambiguities, and conflict with the Wilderness Act.
- Signed onto a letter with 85 organizations urging the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations to preserve environmental funding in the annual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2025.
- Joined several dozen other conservation organizations in a letter to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee opposing efforts to expand mining activities on public lands.
- Participated in a virtual U.S. Senate Public Lands Round Table with public lands employees that were illegally fired.
For more information on the actions the Coalition is taking, please visit: https://protectnps.org/
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The Coalition to Protect America’s National Parks is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization made up of over 4,000 members, all of whom are current, former, and retired employees or volunteers of the National Park Service (NPS). Together, they have accumulated over 50,000 years of experience caring for America’s most valuable natural and cultural resources. Our members include former NPS directors, deputy and regional directors, superintendents, park rangers (both law enforcement and interpretive), maintenance and administrative professionals, and many other dedicated career professionals.