News Release

Jim Adams, Executive Director, Discover Your Northwest Earns James V. Murfin Award

News Release Date: August 25, 2021

The National Park Service (NPS) has named Jim Adams of Seattle-based Discover Your Northwest, as the recipient of the 2021 James V. Murfin Award in recognition of his more than 20-year commitment to the partnership between NPS and cooperating associations in the Seattle area.  

Cooperating associations help provide the public meaningful connections to public lands and national parks, through interpretation, education, and research programs that federal agencies may not otherwise be able to provide. In 2019, cooperating associations donated $115 million in direct financial aid to the NPS.  

Adams has been executive director of Discover Your Northwest since April 2000. Under his leadership the organization serves 38 partners with critical fund-raising, volunteer program management, and grant management capacity. The group operates in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, California and Montana. In addition to the NPS, the group partners with the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, City of Seattle Parks and Recreation, and Washington State Parks.  

“Jim is public lands and people focused,” said Superintendent Charles Beall of the Seattle Area National Park Sites. “Through dedication and creativity, Jim maintains a supportive work environment and creates opportunities for volunteers, interns, and partners to be involved in the management of their public lands.”  

“I’m honored to receive this award and want to thank park superintendents and staff as well as my colleagues for their years of dedication to this partnership,” said Jim Adams. “When agencies work with cooperating associations, they have somebody who is always on their side. Cooperating associations and the NPS ‘grew up together’ and their missions are the parks’ missions. In partnership, we can accomplish a lot.” 

Most visitors to federal lands in the Pacific Northwest have likely benefited from the work of Discover Your Northwest. The organization operates retail stores in national park visitor centers and national forest ranger stations; facilitates winter snowshoe programs; manages public land volunteers; and handles grants that support field trips for youth to public lands. 

The James V. Murfin Award is named for the Servicewide cooperating association coordinator who diligently worked to encourage excellence and innovation between cooperating associations and the NPS. His influence continues to inspire and shape successful partnerships across the country.