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The United States' national parks have an inherent contradiction. The federal law that created the National Park Service says the agency—and the parks—must " and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife … unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

That means both and making sure people can visit them. Much of the public focus on the parks is about recreation and enjoyment, but the parks are extremely important places for research and conservation efforts.

These places contain a wide range of and striking environments: volcanoes, glaciers, sand dunes, marshlands, ocean ecosystems, forests and deserts. And these areas face a broad variety of conservation challenges, including the effects of climate change, the perils of popularity driving crowds to some places, and the Trump administration's reductions to park service .

As of who study the national parks and , we have seen the park service make parks far more than just recreational opportunities. They are where researchers—park service personnel and others—study nature across wide-ranging ecosystems and apply what they learn to around the country.

Returning wolves to Yellowstone

One of the best known outcomes of conservation research in park service history is still playing out in the nation's first national park, Yellowstone.

Gray wolves once roamed the forests and mountains, but government-sanctioned eradication efforts to protect livestock in the late 1800s and early 1900s hunted them to near extinction in the lower 48 states by the mid-20th century. In 1974, the federal government declared that gray wolves needed the .

Research in the park found that the to maintain a healthy balance in nature.

In the mid-1990s, an effort began to National Park. The project to the park. The wolves reproduced and became the basis of a Yellowstone-based population that has numbered as and in December 2024 was .

The return of wolves has not only hoping to see these beautiful and powerful predators, but their return has also triggered what scholars call a "," in which the wolves , which in turn has allowed willow and to survive to maturity and restore across the park.

Increased vegetation in turn led to as well as ecosystem changes brought by their water management and engineering skills. , now that they could find shade and shelter in trees near water and food sources.

Black bear protection in the Great Smoky Mountains

is the most biologically diverse park in the country, with and another 80,000 to 100,000 species believed to be present. However, the forests of the Appalachian Mountains were in the late 1800s and early 20th century, during the early era of the logging industry in the region.

Because their habitat was destroyed, and because they were hunted, black bears were nearly eradicated. By 1934, when Great Smoky Mountains National Park was designated, there were only an estimated 100 bears left in the region. Under the park's protection, the population rebounded to an in and around the park in 2025.

Much like the gray wolves in Yellowstone, bears are essential to the health of this ecosystem by preying on other animals, scavenging carcasses and dispersing seeds.

Water preservation in the Everglades

The Everglades are a located in southern Florida. They provide to millions of people across the state, help control storm flooding and are home to dozens of federally threatened and endangered species such as the and .

When Everglades National Park was created in 1947, it was the first time a U.S. national park had been established to protect a natural resource for more than just its scenic value.

As agriculture and surrounding urban development continue to , park professionals and partner organizations have focused on , both for the wildlife and for .

Inspiring future generations

To us, perhaps the most important work in the national parks . Research shows that visiting, exploring and understanding the parks and their ecosystems can and of the parks and the environment as a whole.

With their help, the parks—and the landscapes, resources and beauty they protect—can be preserved for the and humans, in the parks and far beyond their boundaries.