Press Room

Ai Weiwei on Alcatraz, Trace exhibit

Alison Taggart-Barone/Parks Conservancy

Media inquiries

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

Crissy 20 press kit

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

A visitor walks along a path amid gardens at Alcatraz.

More than a landmark: Alcatraz is a living reminder of our past and our potential

“Protecting Alcatraz means protecting a global site of reflection, where people come to learn and grow,” said Christine Lehnertz, President & CEO of the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy. “If we lose that, we lose more than a landmark—we lose an opportunity to do better.”

A group of hikers on a trail at Roy's Redwoods

Parks Conservancy, One Tam Secure $10.9 Million to Boost Wildfire and Forest Resilience

As California faces increasingly severe wildfires, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy and its One Tam partners are leading the charge in wildfire resilience and forest health.

Rendering shows people enjoying the Alcatraz Embarkation Plaza

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy unveils prime restaurant opportunity at Pier 31

Rendering courtesy Heller Manus Architects and Alcatraz City Cruises

San Francisco (September 16, 2024) – The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, in collaboration with Maven Commercial, is seeking a café or restaurant partner for Pier 31 along San Francisco’s waterfront.

Two women carrying bug nets in a grassy field inspect specimen vials

One Tam Community Science Program Finds Rare Bee Lost for Decades

SAN RAFAEL, CA—(August 6, 2024)—The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy working with the National Park Service, California State Parks, Marin Water, and Marin County Parks as the One Tam partnership, announces the finding of the rare San Francisco leaf-cutter bee (Trachusa gummifera) in Marin County.

The Mill Valley-Sausalito multi-use path runs through Bothin Marsh

Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy awarded $1.7 million for sea level rise work

The project presents a nature-based approach to responding to sea level rise and climate change at Bothin Marsh Open Space Preserve and the Mill Valley-Sausalito Pathway, part of the Bay Trail, one of Marin County Parks’ most visited park units and the most vulnerable to sea level rise.

Press Coverage

Topic List - Press Coverage

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.

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).

Videos

OpenRoad: Ecological Workforce – Learning to Battle Climate Change (Episode 77)

Stories

We love it when park supporters deepen their commitment in new and meaningful ways, and that's exactly what Hanford ARC has been doing lately.

Welcome to the William Penn Mott, Jr. Presidio Visitor Center

Stories

What was once the nation’s premier Army post is now a vibrant 1,500-acre national park offering spectacular vistas, rich history natural beauty, and opportunities for recreation, entertainment, and play.

Parks Conservancy Staff: Who We Are and What We Do

Stories

Inspired by supporters like you, the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy’s programs in restoration, conservation,

Mission Blue Butterfly Translocation Project

Our Work

The Mission blue butterfly is a federally endangered species that occurs in coastal grasslands from Marin through San Mateo Counties in central California. Watch the video to learn more about a project to bring populations at these sites to robust, self-sustaining levels.

Endangered Coho Salmon Re-released into Redwood Creek at Muir Beach

Our Work

The Department of Fish and Wildlife, in collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service, National Park Service, State Parks and other entities, has embarked on a short-term rescue mission to prevent the extinction of Coho Salmon in Redwood Creek.

100 Years of Arts in the Parks: The Youth Experience

Our Work

A group of young people explore the environmental art of Andy Goldsworthy and learn how to express their own national park experience through the art of photography.

100 Years of Arts in the Parks: The Artist's Experience

Our Work

"The Artist’s Experience" offers reflections on the national park experience from composers, illustrators, installation artists, musicians, painters and sculptors.

100 Years of Arts in the Parks: 21st Century Parks

Our Work

"100 Years of Arts in the Parks” celebrates how artists inspired the creation of the national parks and are helping to re-imagine the parks today.

Photo Galleries

A park visitor runs on the SCA Trail in the Marin Headlands with the San Francisco skyline in background.

Our Favorite Photos of 2023

Our Work

As we approach the end of 2023, let's take a look back at some of our favorite park memories.

Raptor Migration and Nesting Gallery

Stories

From Cooper's Hawks to Great Horned Owls, a number of raptors nest right here in our parks.

Pianist plays piano surrounded by the red-bricked Fort Point.

Our 19 favorite photos of 2019

Stories

From Muir Woods to Fort Point, from the Alcatraz Occupation anniversary to Mori Point, it’s been a fantastic year in your national parks, and our talented photographers were there to capture all of it. Check out their picks for the top photos of 2019.

Want more Golden Gate National Parks photos and videos? Follow us on Instagram (@parks4all).

Tossing dirt during the Tunnel Tops "Groundmaking" event.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, youth leaders throw soil at Tunnel Tops 'Groundmaking' kick-off

Events

Coming in fall 2021: The Presidio Tunnel Tops! On Thursday, Nov. 7, 2019 we kicked off construction of the site at a “Groundmaking” celebration with the Presidio Trust, the National Park Service, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

Youth in the Parks Gallery

Our Work

The Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, in partnership with the National Park Service and the Presidio trust, hosts a number of youth leadership programs geared toward youth.