Contact: Nithin Coca - (415) 977-5761
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - This week, the celebrated new Ken Burns series, The National Parks: America's Best Idea, airs on PBS for the first time. The series highlights the Sierra Club's long history in helping preserve America's wild legacy through the national parks system.
"This series is a celebration of the natural treasures that make America unique. In his quest to protect places like Yosemite, our founder John Muir faced daunting opposition from those who stood to profit from plundering our natural treasures," said Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope. "We face those same forces today, as we fight to protect America's wildlife, forests, mountains, air and water for future generations. We are fortunate to have Muir's example to guide us and inspire us."
In celebration of the series, this week Sierra Club is calling on 100,000 people to stand up as Champions for National Parks. Park lovers can sign up at http://www.sierraclub.org/ and register to win a trip to Yosemite and San Francisco.
The Ken Burns series is bringing unprecedented attention to the importance of our national parks. Last week, Sierra Club activists organized over 700 parties around the country, where citizens watched sneak previews of the series and wrote letters to Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar asking him to make it a priority to protect America's national parks from global warming.
“This documentary makes it more clear than ever that we shouldn't take "America's Best Idea" for granted,” said Pope. “It’s our job now to protect America’s Best Idea for future generations. The biggest threat facing our parks today is global warming. In Yellowstone, grizzlies are watching their food source decline as a result of warmer temperatures. The glaciers in Glacier National Park are receding at an alarming rate, and scientists say Joshua trees could disappear from Joshua Tree National Park. We must act swiftly to protect these places for our children and grandchildren ”
Through its Resilient Habitats campaign, the Sierra Club has been working to ensure that federal agencies like the National Park Service make it a priority to protect America's public lands and wildlife from global warming.
Part two of the Ken Burns series airs tonight. Founded in 1892 and with a long history of protecting public lands, Sierra Club is featured prominently in the Ken Burns series. For more about the documentary and National Parks, visit http://www.sierraclub.org/parks/.
For more about the Sierra Club Resilient Habitats campaign, go to: www.sierraclub.org/resilienthabitat