The National Parks Conservation Association on April 4 released its third annual list of the 10 most endangered national parks and their biggest threats:

• Alaskan parks, including Denali, Katmai, Gates of the Arctic, Glacier Bay, and Wrangell-St. Elias:
Proposed development, lack of funding, and motorized abuse

• Big Bend National Park (Texas):
Air pollution and reduced water flow threaten this park, Texas' largest and oldest park

• Fire Island National Seashore (New York):
Proposed beach resanding project may cause more harm than good

• Frederick Douglass National Historic Site (Washington, D.C.):
Insufficient funding results in deteriorating historic books, furnishings, and photographs

• Glacier National Park (Montana):
Park infrastructure is crumbling, and development threatens park boundaries; insufficient funding is crippling the park's resource management capabilities

• Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina):
Pollutants from nearby power plants threaten the health of the park

• Petrified Forest National Park (Arizona):
Visitors illegally disturb or steal up to 12 tons of petrified wood every year, and development threatens park views

• Everglades, Biscayne Bay, and Big Cypress in south Florida:
Water levels and pollution remain significant concerns for the three parks; off-road vehicle damage has scarred Big Cypress

• Stones River National Battlefield (Tennessee):
Road construction and development threaten this significant Civil War site

• Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming and Montana):
The park's bison are harassed by snowmobiles and killed by Montana agriculture officials when the animals wander off federal land in search of food during winter.

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.