National Park Foundation Celebrates Subaru of America's $1.4 Million Donation to America's National Parks

WASHINGTON--June 12, 2014: The National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks, has awarded Impact Grants to nine national parks thanks to a $1.4 million donation from Subaru of America. Subaru made this significant contribution to the National Park Foundation through the sixth annual "Share the Love" event. For every new vehicle sold or leased during the event, Subaru donated $250 to the new owner's choice of participating charities, one of which was the National Park Foundation. In addition to the Impact Grants, this funding from Subaru will provide critical support to dozens of national parks across the country, helping to preserve our national treasures for generations to come.

"Thanks to generous partners like Subaru, we are able to help with important conservation projects in our national parks through our strategic programs like Impact Grants," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "It is these types of partnerships, built through shared purpose and mission that serve as a powerful model of what private support can do for our nation's treasured places. We are grateful for Subaru's continued support and look forward to all that we will accomplish together moving forward."

Alan Bethke, vice president of marketing for Subaru of America said, "As many Subaru owners enjoy the outdoors and visit our national parks, we are very pleased to partner with the National Park Foundation to support their very worthwhile work."

Now in its seventh year, the Impact Grants program provides national parks with the critical financial support they need to transform innovative, yet underfunded, ideas into successful in-park programs and initiatives.

Ranging in size and scope, each of the selected parks demonstrated a clear need in which funding would make a profound difference in the areas of habitat restoration, wildlife protection, and/or conservation research. Programs made possible through the 2014 Impact Grants include:

Bat Survey at Fire Island National Seashore, New York Fire Island National Seashore will partner with local, state, and regional organizations, as well as Gateway National Recreation Area and Sagamore Hill National Historic Site to participate in the Long Island Century Bat Survey. This event is designed to collect important data about rapidly declining bat populations, and to educate the public about the current status of bats and how they can help. The three national parks will serve as study sites for field research as well as outdoor classrooms for the public, who will learn about bats and bat ecology, and will become citizen scientists by helping to collect data on bats. Habitat Restoration at Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument, Idaho In August 2010, the Long Butte wildfire burned over 75% of the park. This fire, along with previous high intensity burns, and the subsequent influx of invasive plant species has resulted in low quality habitats. HAVENS Project (Hagerman Area Vision for Education about Native Species) was created in October 2013 to restore areas of low habitat quality located in the park and to increase public understanding of key ecological principles through partnerships and community outreach. This project creates hands-on educational opportunities for students and visitors to learn about habitat health, causes of habitat degradation, principles of restoration, and best practices for wild land stewardship. Pollinator Species Conservation at Manassas National Battlefield Park, Virginia In the three miles surrounding Manassas National Battlefield, over 9,000 acres of habitat have been developed in the past decade, contributing to the habitat loss of our native keystone pollinator species. Through this project, volunteers and partners will help plant native wildflower pollinator seed mixes, designed specifically to increase foraging and nesting materials for pollinators. Doing this will help offset habitat loss, assist wildlife adaptation to the changing land use conditions, and improve the conditions of our grass and shrub land habitats to reach their full ecological potential.

The entire list of the 2014 Impact Grants recipients, receiving funding thanks to Subaru's support, includes:

Crater Lake National Park (OR) El Malpais & El Morro National Monuments (NM) Fire Island National Seashore (NY) Gateway National Recreation Area (NY, NJ) George Washington Birthplace National Monument (VA) Great Egg Harbor National Scenic & Recreational River (NJ) Guadalupe Mountains National Park (TX) Hagerman Fossil Beds National Monument (ID) Manassas National Battlefield Park (VA)

A listing of these parks and their project descriptions can be found on the National Park Foundation website.