The National Park Service

What is the National Park Service and What do We do?

The National Park Service=

The U.S. Forest Service =

The National Park Service cares for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage.

Mission:

• Yellowstone, established in 1872, is the first National Park in the world

• National Parks are called America’s best idea

• The National Park Service was created in 1916

While the National Park Service is perhaps best known for Park Rangers...

Lake Mead National Recreation Area, NV

…and caring for western wilderness parks where millions of Americans and international visitors head for memorable family vacations…

Yellowstone National Park, WY, MT, ID

…the National Park Service cares for 392 National Parks in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico & the Virgin Islands...

Salem Maritime National Historic Site, MA

Places where you can walk the battlefield that changed the tide of the Civil War…

Gettysburg National Military Park, PA

…or learn about a man who made civil rights a reality.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, GA

Places that help us remember the pain…

Andersonville National Historic Site, GA

…the people…

Lincoln Memorial, DC

…and the places that forged the American character.

Fort Clatsop National Memorial, OR

Places that help us learn from ancient civilizations...

Mesa Verde National Park, CO

…and get away from civilization altogether.

Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

Places with faces…

Channel Islands National Park, CA

Yellowstone National Park, WY, MT, ID

Mount Rushmore National Memorial, SD

…and wide open spaces.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park, TN & NC

Places with inspiring stories...

Edmund Pettus Bridge/Selma-to-Montgomery National Historic Trail, AL

…and places that give us stories to tell.

Virgin Islands National Park, VI

Places in big cities...

Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, MO

…and small towns.Booker T. Washington National Monument, VA

• The National Park System– 392 National Parks that preserve the authentic

places where real things happened– Where visitors – and virtual visitors – can

create meaningful experiences – Where the National Park Service guarantees

these places and opportunities are here today and in the future

• The numbers:– $2.4 billion annual budget– 286 million annual visits to National Parks…

• More than go to Disney attractions, Universal Studios and National Football League games – combined

– 136 million annual visits to www.nps.gov– 84 million acres

– Almost 200,000 students & 20,000 teachers in Parks as Classroom Programs in 2000

– Habitat for 168 threatened or endangered species– More than 80 million museum objects– 1.5 million archeological sites– 26,000 historical structures

• Who are the people of the National Park Service?– 23,000 professionals

• architects, archeologists and rangers• maintenance workers and wildlife biologists• law enforcement officers and educators

• Working with partners– Thousands of organizations work with the

National Park Service every day to enhance service to the public

– They include...

Volunteers in Parks (VIPs)– 145,000 annual VIPs– 4.4 million hours donated– valued at more than $66 million

• Cooperating Associations– Enhance education and

National Park experience– 65 associations– $17 million in

annual contributions

• Friends Groups– Non-profit partners– More than 150

support specific parks– $15 million

in support

www.friendsofbookert.org

• National Park Foundation– Official non-profit partner– $34 million in grants over

last 5 years– Partner in National

Parks Pass

The National Park Foundation honors, enriches, and expands the legacy of private philanthropy that

helped create, and continues to sustain, America's National Parks.

• Rivers, Trails & Conservation Assistance Program– helps locally-led

efforts to plan greenways, conserve rivers and watersheds and create trails

– more than 900 communities assisted since 1988

Working Close to Home

– More than 1 million properties listed

• National Register of Historic Places

Prudence Crandall House, CT

• Tribal Grants

– Assists more than 100 Indian tribes in protecting their unique & endangered cultures

Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe, WA

• Land & Water Conservation Fund– 50% matching grants for local parks and recreation facilities– $3.2 billion for more than 37,000 projects since 1965

• Urban Park and Recreation Recovery (UPARR)– $259 million in park rehab funds to 400 jurisdictions in 42

states since 1978

• Federal Lands to Parks– help states and localities acquire surplus federal land for parks

at no cost– 1,200 properties recycled in 50 states and three territories since

1949

– tax credit program leverages more than $2 billion annually in private investment to bring back inner cities and towns

• Historic Preservation Tax Incentives

New Amsterdam Theater, NY

• Working Far From Home– Sharing America’s best idea with other

nations• South Africa• Canada• China• Russia• Mexico

• National Trails System– 30 historic and scenic

trails administered or jointly administered by the National Park Service

– 54,000 miles of trails in 50 states

Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail

• National Trails SystemNational trails are officially established under the authorities of the National Trails System Act (16 USC 1241-51). There are several types:

National scenic trails are 100 miles or longer, continuous, primarily non-motorized routes of outstanding recreation opportunity. Such trails are established by Act of Congress.

National historic trails commemorate historic (and prehistoric) routes of travel that are of significance to the entire Nation. They must meet all three criteria listed in Section 5(b)(11) of the National Trails System Act. Such trails are established by Act of Congress.

National recreation trails, also authorized in the National Trails System Act, are existing regional and local trails recognized by either the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of the Interior upon application.

• National Historic Trails National historic trails must be:^ Continuously linked via sites/landscapes/resources^ Historically significant nationally^ Based on a historically used pathway

• National Heritage Areas– works with

partners in nine National Heritage Areas to conserve cultural and natural resources

Augusta Canal National Heritage Area

• National Heritage Areas

The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits. Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community's pride in its history and traditions, and in residents' interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations. It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service. The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits. Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community's pride in its history and traditions, and in residents' interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations. It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service.

The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits: ^ Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community's pride in its history and traditions^ Residents' grassroots interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations. ^ It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. ^ Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service.

• National Park Service and Potential New Civil Rights Units

The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits. Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community's pride in its history and traditions, and in residents' interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations. It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service. The designation has both tangible and intangible benefits. Heritage conservation efforts are grounded in a community's pride in its history and traditions, and in residents' interest and involvement in retaining and interpreting the landscape for future generations. It offers a collaborative approach to conservation that does not compromise traditional local control over and use of the landscape. Designation comes with limited financial and technical assistance from the National Park Service.

Considerations:^ Available funding ^ Emotional Climate: Are there folks that are resistant the story being told?^ Political Climate: Is committed support from Congress?^ Is there a willingness to let government determine interpretation of history^ Does it fulfill the criteria of desired designation? Does it matter?

As the premiere preservation organization in this country the National Park Service continues to care for special places saved by the American people so that all may experience our heritage. Ultimately, we hope that you will join us in this venture of stewarding our national treasures.