National parks consist of some of the most breathtaking and miraculous landscapes in the country. In addition, they are also home to a wide variety of diverse creatures, trees, and plants—some of which are endangered species. Despite being protected areas of land, these beautiful areas face many grave and immediate dangers which threaten to diminish their beauty and magnificence. As such, it’s important to find ways to protect our national parks. Here are just a few of the many ways that you can make a difference.

Live an Environmentally Conscious Lifestyle

A large threat to national parks is pollution created by environmentally-destructive lifestyles. To create an environment that will allow our national parks to continue to flourish, it’s important to live an eco-friendly lifestyle. Ways to reduce your carbon footprint and negative environmental impact include:

• Reducing, reusing, and recycling as much as possible.
• Eat less meat.
• Cut out plastic as much as possible.
• Turn off lights and appliances when you’re not using them.
• Improve your home’s insulation.
• Carpool, bike, or walk instead of driving.
• Purchase food and other products from local vendors.

Adopt an Acre, Trail, or Park

Another way to protect our national parks is to adopt an acre, trail, or park. Adopting one of these sections of land essentially means that you will donate a certain amount of money that will go towards caring and maintaining a specific section of a national park. For example, your funds may help remove invasive species or litter in the area.

To adopt a park, contact the park rangers or supervisors of the park that you are interested in and ask them how to proceed as each park will have different processes. If you have the funds to do so, adopting a park is a highly beneficial way to keep our parks clean and in top condition for years to come.

Do Your Part To Prevent Wildfires

Wildfires pose a significant threat to our beautiful national parks. To help mitigate and prevent such destructive fires from consuming our precious national parks, consider pursuing a career as a wildland firefighter.

If committing your life to becoming a wildland firefighter seems a bit too drastic, don’t worry. There are still many ways in which you can help prevent wildfires from occurring. For example, keeping a close eye on campfires to ensure they are fully extinguished before leaving them unattended is a great way to mitigate one of the most common causes of wildfires. In addition, you can also avoid discarding lit cigarette butts, avoid burning large quantities of debris that could cause sparks to spread, and making sure that your home has plenty of defensible space around it to slow the spread of potential fires.