National Parks Management and Policy Considerations

The National Park Service (NPS), in the Department of the Interior. has long worked with outside partners, including donors and volunteers, commercial concessioners, land managers in surrounding areas, and others, to fulfill its land stewardship responsibilities. In some park units, however, partnerships go beyond such traditional forms of cooperation. In the so-called "partnership parks," NPS owns and/or manages units along with federal, tribal, state, local, or private partners. Congress generally specifies partners and partnership terms in these units' enabling legislation. This book examines the ongoing congressional interest in the partnership park option, as Congress seeks to leverage limited financial resources for park management, to respond to concerns about federal land acquisition, and to create park units in "lived-in" landscapes, where natural and historical attractions are mixed with homes and businesses.