More than a century ago, Americans had a vision: permanently protect some of our most incredible natural and historic places so future generations could experience them as they were meant to be experienced—in their natural beauty.

Those landmarks became our national parks, and in his proclamation for National Parks Week earlier this month, President Obama called on all Americans to “recommit to doing our part to preserve these majestic places for all our children and grandchildren.” We couldn’t agree more.

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In his proclamation, he also spoke of the need to combat climate change. Last week, he traveled to Everglades National Park – one of the parks at highest risk from sea level rise driven by climate change, and desperately in need of restoration – but climate change is not just a threat to this park, it is a threat to all our national parks.

Beyond sea level rise, national parks and their surrounding communities are threatened by drought that drives catastrophic wildfires, impacted by air pollution, and suffer from reduced streams and rivers, all of which threaten park plants and wildlife, and the people who live and work near, and visit the parks.

Our legacy for national parks cannot be Glacier National Park without glaciers, or Everglades National Park swallowed by rising seas. As the administration focuses on climate policies, its climate agenda should also confront actions that compound the threats to our parks.

There is no single solution to protect our parks from climate change, but there are a series of reasonable steps – many already underway -- the administration can take to ensure parks thrive in their second century.

Across the country from the Everglades, the Grand Canyon is another national park experiencing the consequences of a shifting climate. This natural wonder of the world faces crippling drought, and yet proposed commercial development threatens to further strain scarce water resources that people and wildlife depend upon. The president can help protect America’s Grand Canyon.

He can also ensure a balanced approach to domestic energy development while protecting the iconic wildlife and landscapes of Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Mojave national parks by finalizing the California Desert Renewable Energy Conservation Plan. This would create energy zones and conservation lands on 22 million acres.

Americans expect national parks to have the cleanest air in the country, but this is not always the case. Many parks struggle with air pollution from nearby power plants that cause parks like the Grand Canyon and the Great Smoky Mountains to be shrouded in haze, driving climate change and threatening visitors' health. Under current U.S. EPA rules, clean air won’t be restored to national parks for decades and even centuries in many cases, but the president can fix this by strengthening EPA’s park air cleanup program and closing loopholes to ensure park air is clean within our lifetimes.

To be resilient in the face of climate change, and to continue to boost local economies and provide visitors with the experiences they seek, national parks also need healthy lands and waters. Many opportunities exist for the administration to maintain and enhance the health of the landscapes and waters in and around our national parks.

Our national parks are special places that remind us who we are as a people. They connect us with the natural world and provide us with places of refuge, healing and an understanding of our history. We cannot let climate change threaten that connection.

By taking these and other important steps, along with his critically important focus on combating climate pollution, the president can give the next generation of Americans the chance to enjoy our national parks in better condition than they are today.

Pierno is the chief operating officer of the National Parks Conservation Association.