Western National Parks names 2025–2026 award honorees and grant recipients

By AI, Created 4:44 PM UTC, May 18, 2026, /AGP/ – Western National Parks has announced its 2025–2026 awards, grants and education projects supporting park research, classroom learning and stewardship across the West. The honorees and recipients include scientists, educators and schools tied to Great Basin, Bandelier, Saguaro and other national park sites.

Why it matters: - Western National Parks is directing recognition and funding toward people and projects that expand park research, improve access to park learning and build future stewards. - The awards and grants support work at parks and monuments across the West, with impacts ranging from cave conservation to classroom field trips and citizen science.

What happened: - Western National Parks announced its 2025–2026 award honorees and grant recipients on May 13, 2026. - Gretchen Baker received the 2025 Edward B. Danson Award for Outstanding Contributions to National Parks. - Natalie Teboul received the 2025 Stewart L. Udall Award. - Western National Parks awarded 2025 James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grants and 2026 research grants to multiple park-related projects.

The details: - Gretchen Baker has spent 25 years conserving the underground environments of Great Basin National Park. - Baker has secured more than $8 million in grants to improve cave infrastructure and support interpretation of wild caves. - As National Park Service Scientific Permit and Research Coordinator, Baker has supported multiple Western National Parks-funded research projects and helped design visitor center exhibits. - Baker has organized 16 BioBlitz events since 2009. - Those events have documented 700 plant and animal species in Great Basin National Park, including several new to science. - Baker has published research papers, interpretive materials and park guides for children and adults. - Baker founded and edits The Midden, a biannual resource management newsletter. - Baker is a Life Member and Fellow of the National Speleological Society and has served as National Coordinator of the National Cave Rescue Commission since 2021. - Baker has also worked at six other National Park Service sites, including Carlsbad Caverns National Park, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve, Death Valley National Park and Yellowstone National Park. - Natalie Teboul created Traveling Miss T.’s Math Maps, which uses the coordinate plane to let students “travel” to national parks from the classroom. - Teboul’s maps cover more than 60 public lands sites. - Teboul works with the National Association for Interpretation and has received support from the American Geographical Society and the American Association of Geographers. - The James E. Cook Nature’s Classroom Grant is designed to increase access for underrepresented K–12 youth by funding park-based learning experiences. - Arroyos del Norte Elementary School students will visit Bandelier National Monument to learn how ancestral Puebloans’ lives and culture were shaped by their environment. - Peñasco Elementary School students will visit Petroglyph National Monument to study petroglyphs and the protection of cultural heritage sites and artifacts. - Tularosa High School students will learn about Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument through an in-class program focused on Indigenous and Hispanic heritage. - Students in the Native American Advancement Foundation After School Program will join Saguaro National Park’s Lost Carnivores citizen science project. - The 2026 research grants will support work at Channel Islands National Park, Chickasaw National Recreation Area, Great Basin National Park, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument, White Sands National Park and Wupatki National Monument. - Channel Islands research will investigate the seasonal diets of the endemic Island Scrub Jay. - Chickasaw National Recreation Area research will study visitor use and crowding perceptions. - Great Basin National Park research will survey lakes and the Lehman Rock glacier to map, model and monitor freshwater reservoirs. - Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument research will examine the impacts of the border wall on wildlife. - Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area research will study the home range of southwestern pond turtles. - Tule Springs Fossil Beds National Monument research will document Nuwu/Nuwuvi knowledge and perspectives on the park’s landscapes. - White Sands National Park research will reconstruct lake levels to understand past landscapes and possible locations of ancient human footprints and trackways. - Wupatki National Monument research will document the historical and current architecture of Wukoki Pueblo.

Between the lines: - The honorees show Western National Parks favoring work that blends science, education and community engagement rather than research alone. - The grant portfolio also signals a broad definition of park stewardship, including Indigenous knowledge, cultural heritage, wildlife monitoring and visitor experience. - Marie Buck, Western National Parks president and CEO, said the organization sees the work as forward-looking and intended to expand access, curiosity and stewardship across generations.

What’s next: - Western National Parks directed readers to its awards and grants pages for more information on nomination and funding opportunities. - The organization also pointed to its research page for details on the 2026 research grants. - The awards and grants are positioned to support park education, conservation and research outcomes over the coming year.

The bottom line: - Western National Parks is using awards and grants to back people and projects that connect more communities to national parks while advancing conservation and discovery.