Fran Ulmer Joins National Parks Group 2/9/2004
From: Jim Stratton, Alaska Regional Director, 907-277-6722, ext. 23, or Fran Ulmer, 907-748-4228 (cell), both for National Parks Conservation Association WASHINGTON, Feb. 9 -- Fran Ulmer, former lieutenant governor of Alaska, has joined the board of trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA). The board is the governing body for the nonpartisan watchdog organization. "Ms. Ulmer has a demonstrated interest in building a strong economic future for Alaska," said NPCA President Thomas C. Kiernan. "Given the significant contribution of national park visitation to the economic viability of communities in Alaska and across the country, it makes perfect sense for Ms. Ulmer to join the board of America's leading national parks advocacy organization. We look forward to working with Ms. Ulmer to ensure the health of our national parks: the soul of our nation and the heart of local economies." According to research conducted by Michigan State University, visitors to Alaska's national parks in 2001 generated nearly $100 million for the state and local economies. Ulmer has spent 30 years in public service at the local, state, and national levels. While lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1994-2002, Ulmer served as co-chair of the Land Managers Forum, which focused on increasing the cooperation and coordination of federal, state, and native land management, specifically concentrating on tourism issues. She was elected to the State House of Representatives from 1986-1994, serving as House Minority Leader in her final terms, and was mayor of Juneau, Alaska's capital. Ulmer most recently completed a semester at Harvard University, teaching and mentoring students, as a Fellow at the Institute of Politics in the Kennedy School of Government. She will serve as a distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Alaska at Anchorage, for the 2004 spring semester. "I consider our National Park System a national treasure," Ulmer said. "It is one of the great legacies of Americans who want their great, great, great grandchildren to enjoy the special places where we fish and hike and camp today. It is an honor for me to be able to serve an organization which has as its mission the conservation and enhancement of America's national parks." Ulmer's initial term on NPCA's board of trustees will be for three years. --- Founded in 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association is America's only private nonprofit citizen organization dedicated solely to protecting, preserving, and enhancing the National Park System. Today, the organization has 300,000 members, of which 1,000 reside in Alaska. Npca@npca.org; http://www.npca.org | |