America’s Federal Recreational Lands are excited to celebrate the launch of their new "Share the Experience" Photo Contest www.sharetheexperience.org.  It is the official Federal photo contest to select the image on the new entrance pass for the National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclamation and the USDA Forest Service. The contest will run annually and this year's winning photo will be the image on the 2008 Pass.

Our nation's national parks, national forests, wildlife refuges, and recreational lands are wonderful places to visit daily, for a weekend, or for an entire vacation. They include beautiful lakes, rivers and seashores, outstanding cultural and historic sites, and some of the world’s most magnificent forests, parks and monuments. They also make fantastic settings for photography.

The "Share the Experience" Photo Contest is sponsored by the National Park Foundation and Casio on behalf of the five Federal Land Management Agencies. Casio is helping the Federal agencies publicly promote the contest through various advertising channels - on the web in particular. In addition, Casio's support allows the agencies to offer this year's outstanding photographers a chance to win trips to America's Federal Recreation Lands, a Ford Escape Hybrid SUV, CASIO Digital Cameras and more!

We invite Americans to visit any of the sites of the participating agencies and snap a few shots of the best of America’s natural, scenic, and historical wonders and enter them into the “Share the Experience” photo contest. Go to www.recreation.gov and click on the map to find NPS, FWS, BLM, BOR or USFS sites to enjoy and then enter photos on-line at www.sharetheexperience.org where you will find the official rules, details, and more chances to win.

The Federal Recreational Lands Pass will provide access to all participating Federal sites where entrance and standard amenity fees are charged. This is a new pass and will replace the National Parks Pass and other Federal recreational lands passes. More than 80% of the pass revenue will stay at the site where you purchase the pass to support vital federal lands projects. The new Pass will be available at federal recreation land management entrance stations, ranger stations and visitor centers starting in 2007 and will be valid for 12 months from the date of purchase.

So come out and share the experience with us - your photo may just grace the 2008 Pass!