Los Osos Oaks State Park, California, photo by Mat Ramsay. Photo courtesy of America's State Parks Photo Contest.
National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) and the America's State Park Foundation
America's state park system represents 6,792 state parks in 50 states covering 18.5 million acres of land. Of that area, 12.5 million acres are forested land requiring conservation and protection. These parks see more than 800 million visitors each year, are managed and maintained by more than 50 thousand full and part-time employees, and have operating budgets in excess of $2 billion. The National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD) is devoted to helping state park systems effectively manage and administer their state park system. The mission of the Association is to promote and advance the state park systems of America for their important contributions to the nation's environment, heritage, health and economy.
STIHL has an important partnership with the NASPD and the America's State Park Foundation. For many years, STIHL Inc. has supported the NASPD Leadership School and is the only corporate partner invited to be a sponsor. The State Park Leadership School not only teaches the traditions of the state park system, students also get an education about natural and cultural resource management and how to provide recreation opportunities for 813 million visitors each year, while conserving and protecting the natural resources.
To further assist the State Parks in their conservation and education efforts, STIHL Inc. has established a matching grant program with the America's State Park Foundation. Grants are provided to states for projects in the areas of forest and natural resource preservation, education programs for underserved youth, community service activities such as tree plantings, and diversity and inclusion efforts for park visitors as well as employment.
For more information please visit:
National Association of State Park Directors (NASPD):
https://www.stateparks.org/about-us/naspd/
America's State Park Foundation:
https://www.stateparks.org/