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We the Parks: Protect Alcatraz Toolkit
A visitor looks back at the island after a day of touring Alcatraz.
Ryan Curran White / Parks Conservancy
Alcatraz isn’t just history—it’s a national park that inspires. Once a site of incarceration, it’s now a powerful space for learning, reflection, and connection. More than 1.4 million people visit each year to engage with its layered stories of justice, resistance, nature, and renewal.
Proposals to reopen it as a prison would undo decades of progress. That’s not a plan—it’s a step backward.
This toolkit gives you what you need to speak out: key messages, fast facts, sample posts, and ways to take action. Use it to rally your networks and show what public lands are really for. When sharing this toolkit, please use this link: parksconservancy.org/protectalcatraz.
Let’s protect the island—and everything it stands for.
Because We the Parks means all of us.
Overview
Alcatraz is no longer about locking people up—it’s about opening minds.
Today, it’s one of the most-visited national park sites in the country, drawing more than 1.4 million people a year and generating around $60 million in tourism revenue.
The island helps people learn about hard history, reflect on justice, and connect with nature. It tells important stories—about incarceration, Indigenous resistance, resilience, and renewal. From restored gardens and nesting seabirds to youth programs and public talks, Alcatraz shows what national parks can be: places for learning, healing, and change.
Turning Alcatraz back into a prison wouldn’t just be controversial—it would be extremely difficult and harmful.
- It’s Protected by Law: Alcatraz is part of a national park and protected by federal law. To turn it into a prison again, Congress would need to pass new legislation.
- It Doesn’t Have the Basics: There’s no running water, working power grid, or sewer system on the island. Rebuilding all that would be expensive and damaging to the environment.
- It Would Undo Years of Progress: Alcatraz has become a place for education, reflection, and connection. Reopening it as a prison would take us backward.
Reopening Alcatraz as a federal prison would erase decades of progress. It would undermine the island’s current role as a symbol of transformation and a site for public education, justice, and ecological restoration.
Social Media Resources
Click on the "+" below to download graphics and copy a caption for your social media posts.
Keep an eye on @parksconservancy on Instagram, along with our Facebook and LinkedIn pages, for more coverage/resources that you can share with your audiences!
On desktop, click the "download" link to the right of the graphic. Once the image opens in another tab, right click "save image as." On mobile, click the "download" link then, once the image appears, press & hold until you can save image on your camera roll.
We the Parks.
We the Parks.
Protect these national parks.
Protect Alcatraz.
Protect history.
Protect community.
Post 1
Alcatraz is thriving—not as a prison, but as a national park that inspires, educates, and connects. Reopening it as a prison would be a step backward. Let’s protect what this place has become.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#WeTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #ParksConservancy
Post 2
1.4 million visitors. $60 million in annual impact. Thousands of nesting birds.
Alcatraz isn’t broken. It’s working—for the public, for the planet, for the future.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#WeTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #ParksConservancy
Post 3
From history and justice to gardens and wildlife, Alcatraz shows what’s possible when we care for the places that shaped us. Let’s keep it a space for learning, not locking people away.
To learn more, visit parksconservancy.org.
#WeTheParks #ProtectAlcatraz #ParksConservancy
- Alcatraz is thriving. Sold-out tours and growing engagement show the public’s deep interest in what the island stands for today.
- It’s a national park, not a prison—and it’s doing exactly what it should: sparking meaningful conversations and inspiring visitors.
- Alcatraz is a powerful symbol of change. Turning it back into a prison is not a serious plan—it’s a step backward.
- The island is home to layered stories—of incarceration, protest, resilience, and renewal. This is history worth protecting.
- More than 1.4 million annual visitors
- $60 million in tourism revenue each year
- The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA), which includes Alcatraz, generated $2 billion in economic activity in 2023 and supported more than 13,000 jobs. Alcatraz plays a major role in that impact.
- Closed as a federal prison in 1963
- Home to over 5,000 nesting birds annually
- Consistently ranks among TripAdvisor’s top U.S. attractions
- Site of the historic Indigenous Occupation (1969–71)
- Spread the word: Share your support for the preservation of Alcatraz with your networks by using our suggested language and hashtags (#WeTheParks, #ProtectAlcatraz, and #ParksConservancy). Be sure to tag us at @ParksConservancy.
- Volunteer: Join the Parks Conservancy’s incredible network of volunteers restoring habitats, supporting visitor programs, and caring for places like Alcatraz. Every hour makes a difference.
- Donate: Your support helps protect Alcatraz and other iconic park sites across the Bay Area. Give today to invest in public lands, community programs, and future generations.
- Become a Member: Be part of something bigger. As a Parks Conservancy member, you’ll fuel hands-on conservation, youth engagement, and equity-centered storytelling across our national parklands.
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