Our Work

View of the Golden Gate Bridge and the Presidio of San Francisco from Fort Baker.
Op-Ed | Urban Gateways, Woven Into Daily Life

Gateway communities are the front doors of our National Park System, and the Bay Area is fortunate to have many. The GGNRA is just a bus, bike, or boat ride away for many living in San Francisco and neighboring areas. 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.

Two people speaking at the Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series Event on Alcatraz
Unlocking truth: How Alcatraz is changing the conversation on incarceration

Through storytelling and inspirational programs like the Formerly Incarcerated Speaker Series, the Parks Conservancy and National Park Service are helping 1.4 million annual Alcatraz visitors reflect on justice, mass incarceration, and the human experience at this vital national park site. 

I-YEL Application 2025

Application for Inspiring Young Emerging Leaders (I-YEL), 2025

Community Engagement Team at Muir Woods
Engagement and Outreach

Cultivating community in the parks and beyond

The view from the Alcatraz Cruises boat to Alcatraz Island.
Protect Alcatraz Toolkit

Partner toolkit to amplify the "Protect Alcatraz" campaign—Alcatraz isn’t just history, it’s a national park that inspires. Let’s protect the island—and everything it stands for. 

A park ranger greets visitors at Presidio Tunnel Tops.
We the Parks: A message from our CEO

Parks Conservancy President & CEO Christine Lehnertz on how national parks—and places like Alcatraz Island—can help us honor the past, spark connection in the present, and boldly shape a more just, inclusive future belonging to all of us.

A hiker looks out over the bay from Mount Tamalpais East Peak.
Conservation Initiatives

The Parks Conservancy coordinates and participates in large-scale initiatives that protect parks.

See-Saw Conversation
Trail & Park Improvements - DEPRECATED

We help maintain 116 miles of trails and 1,439 historic structures in the parks and create new parks like the recently opened Presidio Tunnel Tops, a welcoming space built by the community, for the community.

Shorebirds observed during perigean spring tide in January 2024
Sea Level Rise in the Parks

There’s no place like the California coast. The Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is home to 91 miles of precious shoreline used for recreation, learning, and general enjoyment by people and the many living things which populate our varied coastal ecosystems.

Alcatraz Island at Sunset
Op-Ed | National Parks Need More Than Love Right Now—They Need Lasting Investment

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).

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