During this challenging time of change for our nation and for our national parks, Friends of the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore wants to shine a bright light – a lighthouse beacon if you will – on this very special place and on the people dedicated to protecting the national lakeshore for future generations. We’re launching a series entitled “Love our Lakeshore.” (You can tell us why you Love Our Lakeshore by filling out our simple form at this link.)

We begin with some thoughts from former park ranger and current Friends board member Neil Howk.

Old Faithful – Neil Howk photo

While rafting on the Green River through Dinosaur National Monument, we were all awestruck when floating along the base of Steamboat Rock, and gazing straight up its apparently never ending red sandstone wall to the azure, blue, cloudless sky above.

Neil’s children in Washington, DC

My wife, children and I were mesmerized standing alone on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on a mild February evening, watching the full moon rise over the Washington Monument, and listening to my mother-in-law tell the story of Marion Anderson’s concert there in 1939. I am thrilled that these personal experiences have helped me pass on my love for the parks, and this country, to my children.

I also love the National Park Service. It changed my life. Spending the summer of ’76 in Yellowstone inspired me to continue working in the national parks. I met my wife during my first season as a park ranger. I was lucky enough to enjoy a 40-year career doing something I loved, working for the National Park Service in the field of interpretation. My job as an interpreter was facilitating connections between the meanings of park resources and the interests of the visitors. Interpretation strives to establish a relationship of care. Japanese conservationist Tanaka Shozo said,” The care of rivers is not a question of rivers, but of the human heart.” He believed that people must care about something before they will support caring for it. “We only protect what we love…”

Americans love their national parks. The parks received more than 325 million visitors in 2023. At a time when visitation is booming, however, the number of people working for the National Park Service is declining. The NPS has about 20,000 permanent, temporary and seasonal employees. These employees maintain roads, trails, docks, and campgrounds; staff visitor centers; manage permits; study plants and wildlife; staff entrance stations; clean bathrooms; collect garbage; restore and maintain historic structures, enforce laws; conduct search and rescues; fight fires; keep visitors safe; and tell the parks’ stories… all the jobs that make visiting the parks possible and enjoyable.

The National Park Service had about 2,400 fewer employees in 2020 than it did in 2001. Last week, another 1,000 park employees were fired. Recent hiring freezes threaten the ability of the parks to hire many of the 5,000+ seasonal employees that parks rely on during their spring and summer busy seasons. It is time to start sharing some of the love we have for the national parks with the people who work for the National Park Service.

The National Parks have been called “America’s Crown Jewels” and “America’s Best Idea.” If we care about these places that epitomize the landscapes, cultures, buildings, and ideas that make America great; we must also care about the people that care for these treasures. I was fortunate to spend 35 years working with an amazing group of people at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore who worked tirelessly to “preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the national park system for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.”

We must all make an effort to help care for the people who are trying to carry out this amazing mission at Apostle Islands National Lakeshore and all the units of the National Park System. They need that support now more than ever.