Some of the organizations listed here attempt to influence policy and legislation regarding protected areas. Others serve as partners with protected area agencies, supporting them with information, volunteers, and other assistance. Both types of groups may also support research, management, and other professional functions in protected areas.
ORGANIZATIONS CONCERNED PRIMARILY WITH NATURAL RESOURCES
(1) BASED IN OR FOCUSED ON NORTH AMERICA
- The Campaign to Protect America’s Lands “exposes policies that permit destruction of public lands for private profit.” Strong focus on U.S. national parks.
- The Coalition of Concerned NPS Retirees is devoted “to maintaining and protecting our national parks for the benefits of all Americans.”
- Science and Management of Protected Areas Association (SAMPAA) is almost a sister organization to the GWS. Based in Canada, SAMPA hosts a triennial international conference on protected areas.
- National Parks Conservation Association advocates exclusively on behalf of U.S. national parks.
- Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS) plays much the same function in Canada. CPAWS tries to protect representative portions of Canada's wild ecosystems in the form of parks, wilderness and natural areas.
- Canadian Nature Federation also is concerned with PAs.
- Canadian Council on Ecological Areas is committed to establishing a comprehensive network of protected areas to protect Canada's terrestrial and aquatic diversity. They also produce analyses for the Commission on Environmental Cooperation, the environmental arm of the North American Free Trade Agreement.
- The Nature Conservancy (US) manages an extensive system of protected areas.
- The Wilderness Society is an advocacy group for designated wilderness in the USA and elsewhere.
- Wilderness Information Network is a consortium of US land-managing agencies and partners headed up by the University of Montana, is an international clearinghouse for deisgnated wilderness.
- Aldo Leopold Wilderness Research Institute is a consortium of U.S. federal agencies that coodinates scientific matters in designated wilderness areas.
- Association of National Park Rangers is the professional organization for U.S. park rangers.
- PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) is a nonprofit organization that encourages employees of U.S. land-managing and environmental-protection agencies to "blow the whistle" on their agencies' actions when those actions compromise rather than protect the environment. The Association of Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics plays the same role, but focused exclusively on the U.S. Forest Service.
- Earthwatch is a unique organization which recruits volunteers to work on natural and cultural projects (often in protected areas) around the world.
- Trust for Public Land buys sensitive properties in the USA and holds them for transfer or re-saleto protected area authorities. .
- National Park Trust is a private land conservancy focusing exclusively on lands to be turned over to the U.S. National Park System.
- National Audubon Society covers population and protected area issues as part of its Population and Habitat Campaign.
- National Recreation and Park Association promotes public awareness and support for recreation, park, and leisure services in the U.S. They have numerous branches, such as the American Park & Recreation Society, which focuses on local parks and playgrounds; the National Society for Park Resources, which seeks to advance the art of planning, maintaining, interpreting, and administering resources of national, historic and cultural value; and the Society of Park and Recreation Educators.
- The National Association of Interpretation offers resources for park naturalists, guides, and other interpreters.
- Despite its name, the North American Association for Environmental Education is a network of educators the actually covers more than 50 countries.
- Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas coordinates protected areas in Mexico.
- Partners in Parks creates educational opportunities for college and graduate students and volunteers in research and preservation programs in national parks.
- Founded in 1989, Wilderness Watch is the only national organization whose sole focus is the preservation and proper stewardship of lands and rivers already included in the National Wilderness Preservation System (NWPS) and National Wild & Scenic Rivers System (NWSRS). The organization grew out of the concern that while much emphasis is being placed on adding new areas to these systems, the conditions of existing Wilderness and rivers are largely being ignored.
- The Conservation Fund forges partnerships to conserve America's legacy of land and water resources. Through land acquisitions, sustainable programs, and leadership training, the Fund and its partners demonstrate balanced conservation solutions that emphasize the integration of economic and environmental goals.
(2) BASED OR FOCUSED OUTSIDE OF NORTH AMERICA
A list of heritage preservation organizations is in the works.