Every year as spring starts to advance, we celebrate the beginning of the National Park System. I give thanks to President Ulysses S. Grant, the Congress of 1872 and all those who made large and small contributions to the system’s creation and stewardship. That surely includes you as an ANPR member.

I was concerned last year about ANPR’s ability to remain a viable organization. I became more comfortable by December at the Ranger Rendezvous when we celebrated our membership success in announcing a total of 1,208 members, our highest total in 10 years. However, now I’m concerned again. All annual memberships expire Dec. 31 each year, and we have dropped below 1,000 so far in 2009. That number will improve as the year goes along and new members join, but having less than 1,000 members weakens ANPR’s effectiveness. What can you do about it?

Here’s one idea: Make an ANPR presentation at a park or college near you. For ANPR to continue to exist we must find ways to excite and involve NPS employees in their early careers and students who are hoping to pursue NPS employment. ANPR has two college chapters: one at Hocking College in Ohio and one at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville.

Do you have a university or community college near you? Can you afford an hour of your time to share your advice and experience with the future of the NPS and ANPR? Show them our college chapter web page (www.anpr.org/college.htm) and the USA JOBS website to understand how the hiring system works. It’s easy to speak and answer questions for an hour about the NPS and ANPR. It’s also personally enriching to be around enthusiastic young people.

If a college presentation isn’t for you, how about a presentation at your park? Spring is the time of year when parks often hold all-employee meetings. Ask the meeting organizers for some time to explain ANPR’s mission and successes. If not at an all-employees meeting, how about presenting at a meeting of a specific discipline or employee group in your park? We can’t expect NPS employees to join ANPR if they’ve never heard of it, and part of your responsibility as a member is to spread the word about the good works, advocacy, professional networking and social enrichment that ANPR provides. Rebecca Harriett, our new board member for education and training, and member Jan Lemons will work to develop a PowerPoint presentation with a script so members can make presentations on behalf of ANPR.

Another new outreach method is the creation of groups on popular social networking websites. Thanks to member Liam Strain, ANPR now has formed a group on Facebook and LinkedIn. Joining either is free. Both provide the ability to connect with old friends and colleagues, and network for professional development. Become involved and spread the word about ANPR.

Finally, you can support ANPR this year by attending the Rendezvous in Gettysburg, a world-renowned site for cultural resource stewardship. The “national park” idea first embraced preserving areas for their natural resource values, but it didn’t take long for that idea to expand to include preserving cultural resources and their values with Casa Grande Ruins and Mesa Verde.

There are more units of the National Park System today established primarily for their cultural resources than those established primarily for their natural resources. In this issue of Ranger we focus attention on cultural resource programs and issues in the NPS. If you are employed in a cultural resources profession or are a student in a cultural resources major, ANPR encourages you to join us in our efforts to ensure that cultural resources are receiving the stewardship they deserve within the NPS. Gettysburg would be a great place for you to find out about ANPR.

The national park idea was born in a remote territory that few had seen or cared about when Yellowstone became America’s first national park on March 1, 1872. The idea was bigger than that single place. Today nearly 400 park sites are part of the nationwide system.

ANPR began with 33 park rangers, but now it proudly includes members from every NPS job discipline. Consider ways you can spread the word about ANPR, encourage new members, increase involvement and make ANPR the organization you want it to be.

— Scot McElveen