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For media questions or photo and video requests, please contact us at media@parksconservancy.org .

Browse the latest press coverage, press releases and announcements, videos and photo galleries from the Parks Conservancy below.

For more about the Parks Conservancy, visit our About Us page, see our mission and values, meet our executive team, and find out more about our long history of connecting people to parks. Contact the Parks Conservancy media team at media@parksconservancy.org .

Press Releases

Sunlight shines through canopy at Muir Woods
Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy awarded $4.26 million for forest conservation in Marin with One Tam partnership

SAN FRANCISCO—(February 23, 2024)—The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, working with the National Park Service, California State Parks and Marin Water as the One Tam partnership, was recently awarded $4.26 million in grant funding from the Wildlife Conservation Board (WCB) to support forest conservation programs in Marin County.

A gray fox sits atop a log in the woods of mount tamalpais scratching its ear with its foot.
Technology Boosts Wildlife Research in Marin

SAN RAFAEL, CA. (January 10, 2024)—The National Park Service, California State Parks, Marin Water, Marin County Parks, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy working in partnership as One Tam announces a new partnership with Conservation International and Google Wildlife for Marin Wildlife Watch (formerly called Marin Wildlife Picture Index Project).

A foggy photo of the forests of Mt. Tam with the rising sunlight filtering in.
One Tam partners release 10-year Forest Health Strategy for Marin

SAN FRANCISCO (September 5, 2023)—The National Park Service, California State Parks, Marin Water, Marin County Parks, and the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy working in partnership as One Tam, have released the Marin Regional Forest Health Strategy (Forest Health Strategy), laying out a new model for understanding and caring

Michele Gee stands in front of a green background in the parks.
Michele Gee named deputy chief executive officer of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy today announced the appointment of Michele Gee as its Deputy Chief Executive Officer.

Adam Bad Wound poses in a suit.
Adam Bad Wound Named Chief Development Officer of The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy today announced the appointment of Adam Bad Wound as its Chief Development Officer.

Rendering of a cliff walk at Presidio Tunnel Tops opening July 2022.
OPENING DATE ANNOUNCED! Presidio Tunnel Tops Opens to All Starting Sunday, July 17, 2022

The most anticipated visitor attraction ever planned for the Presidio of San Francisco – Presidio Tunnel Tops – now has an official opening date. The new national park destination welcomes all visitors starting Sunday, July 17, 2022, revealing a spectacular “must see” San Francisco attraction for Bay Area locals and visitors from around the world.

Press Coverage

Topic List - Press Coverage
Marin Headlands' scenic Hawk Hill to reopen
NBC Bay Area

NBC Bay Area reports from Hawk Hill, where we're wrapping up a yearslong project to increase accessibility and improve...

Op-Ed: Urban Gateways, Woven Into Daily Life
National Parks Traveler

Gateway communities are the front doors of our National Park System, and the Bay Area is fortunate to have many. Read the Op-Ed by Parks Conservancy President & CEO Christine Lehnertz to see how we're delivering on the promise of these unique national park sites to build welcoming and belonging in local communities.

California history at stake amid signage orders
KQED

"The United States does not put its history into secret boxes." "History aims to improve the nation by learning the lessons of the past."— Christine Lehnertz, President & CEO of the Parks Conservancy, talks to KQED for a piece on the importance of preserving history in the national parks. The Parks Conservancy works to tell the full story of the GGNRA through signage, programs, and youth education, so we can learn from our shared past and build welcoming national parks for the future.

A San Francisco garter snake
This Bay Area snake is one of the nation’s most beautiful — and rare. Can scientists save it?
San Francisco Chronicle

A coalition of conservation partners is joining forces to protect one of the Bay Area’s most colorful and endangered residents, the San Francisco garter snake. At the heart of this effort is an ambitious habitat restoration project in San Mateo County’s national parklands, led by the Parks Conservancy and the National Park Service, as we work to build national parks where people and nature can thrive.

Parks Conservancy Deputy CEO Michele Gee appears on KQED Forum to talk about the importance of Alcatraz Island as a national park site and a global site of reflection and conversation.
Alcatraz’s Cultural Legacy Extends Beyond Its Prison Past
KQED Forum

Parks Conservancy Deputy CEO Michele Gee appears on KQED Forum to talk about the importance of Alcatraz Island as a national park site and a global site of reflection and conversation.

Raise a glass for national parks at Presidio beer festival
San Francisco Examiner

The San Francisco Examiner previews the Parks4All: Brewfest, where people will come together to celebrate, with all proceeds going to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Students walk amid the San Francisco skyline on their way to Alcatraz Historic Gardens to volunteer.
Trump wants to reopen Alcatraz as a prison - could it happen?
BBC

"Alcatraz challenges us to listen, to learn, and to carry forward the stories that still shape our world today," Christine Lehnertz, president and CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, said in a statement sent to the BBC.

A park visitor looks toward Alcatraz Island from the ferry. An American flag waves in the breeze as they cruise over bay waters.
Trump’s call to reopen Alcatraz falls flat with tourists, who ask: Why and how?
Los Angeles Times

"This is where history speaks — and where we learn from the past to shape a better future."

Flowers in bloom at Alcatraz Historic Gardens
Celebrate Earth Day at Alcatraz
Axios

Axios covers Earth Day on Alcatraz, with events from the Alcatraz Historic Gardens to crabbing off the island.

Plants in the sunshine on Alcatraz Island.
Op-Ed: National Parks Need More Than Love Right Now—They Need Lasting Investment
National Parks Traveler

In this opinion piece, Chris Lehnertz and Cassius Cash, leaders of the Parks Conservancy and Yosemite Conservancy, come together to urge bipartisan reauthorization of the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA).

Biking at Crissy Field
Experts have candid advice for national park visitors
The Hill

"Go with an expectation that when you visit this year, you are like an honorary park ranger. You are a steward of that park." Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy President & CEO Christine Lehnertz offers advice on visiting parks responsibly this summer.

A group of hikers on a trail at Roy's Redwoods
Marin serves as state model for fire prevention
Marin Independent Journal

The Marin Independent Journal covers the California Wildfire and Forest Resilience Task Force and $10.9 million in funding for forest health improvement and wildfire prevention project, awarded to the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and One Tam.

Photo Galleries