Press Releases

Ahead of National Park Week, Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment and Vice-Chair of the Sustainable Energy & Environment Coalition (SEEC) Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) is calling attention to the threats Acadia National Park faces due to climate change.

“From rising temperatures on land and in our oceans to an increasing presence of pests and diseases, the impacts of climate change are already being felt in Acadia and National Parks across the country. Let me be clear: the climate crisis is the single greatest threat to our national parks, and we must take immediate action to mitigate its devastating effects,” said Congresswoman Pingree. “As we kick off National Park Week, a week meant to celebrate, explore, and learn about our nation’s beautiful national parks, I urge Mainers to take time to appreciate our state’s national park, Acadia, and consider what’s at stake. If we don’t take climate action now, future generations won’t get the opportunity to enjoy Acadia’s unique natural beauty.”

Every April, the National Park Service and National Park Foundation celebrate America’s 400 national parks. This year, from April 16-24, people across the country are encouraged to celebrate National Park Week by visiting their state’s park or by discovering a park they haven’t been to. Every national park in the country will waive entrance fees on April 16 to kick of the weeklong celebration.

In September 2021, Pingree hosted U.S. Representatives Mike Quigley (D-IL), Nanette Diaz Barragán (D-CA), and Ann McLane Kuster (D-NH) for a three-day climate impact tour of Acadia National Park. The U.S. House members met with Acadia’s lead scientists at the Schoodic Institute, and discussed the threat of climate change and other environmental concerns at Acadia. 

As Chair of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, Pingree promoted an increase of $142 million for the National Parks Service in Fiscal Year 2022. This includes additional support for the Civilian Climate Corps, Historic Preservation Fund, and parks protection.

Pingree has championed a bold agenda to combat the climate crisis, including introducing legislation to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in U.S. agriculture by 2040 and is a cosponsor of over 40 bills in the 117th Congress to combat the climate crisis, including the visionary Green New Deal. Pingree recently attended the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), in Glasgow, Scotland, to help reassert American leadership on addressing the climate crisis.

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