Resources
Statement of Principles
The National Park Principles convey strong, widespread, nonpartisan support for the national parks and related conservation, historic preservation, and recreation programs to national leaders, and define common ground for leaders, advocates, philanthropists and park partners. The principles are designed to have a lengthy life, to be compelling, and to provide a philosophical framework that guides the separate action agenda that emerged from America’s Summit on National Parks. The principles focus on “high level” concepts designed to lay the groundwork for specific policy propositions, philanthropic approaches and partnership efforts. They are intended to be sufficiently specific to be used to support key action items and to enable efforts at accountability, consistent with the breadth of support their supporters exemplify. They are designed to highlight the broad appeal of our national parks.
Statement of Principles (PDF) | Declaración De Principios Comunes (PDF)
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Joint Statement from NPCA and NPHA on the White House Conference on America's Great Outdoors
Presentations and Transcripts
America’s National Parks and 21st Century Trends, Priorities, and Values: Gaining Broad Support
Moderator: Carlos Alcazar, President & CEO, Hispanic Communications Network
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The Economic Benefits of the National Parks and Park Programs
The Economic Value of Our National Parks and Park Programs
Breakout Session Materials
Connecting Youth through Education
The Economic Value of Our National Parks and Park Programs
- Download summary (PDF)
- An interactive tool showing visitation, spending, and jobs created by national park units (National Parks, Monuments, Parkways, Seashore, Battlefields, etc.)
- An interactive tool showing the economic importance of National Monuments
- A free Excel-based software to produce detailed socioeconomic profiles for any geography in the country:
- Regional and community, tools, and bibliographies related to the economic value of protected public lands:
- An annotated bibliography (PDF) of peer-reviewed literature on the economic value of protected public lands
- Letter to President Obama from more than 100 economists, including three Nobel laureates, stating the economic significance of protected public lands: NPCA’s 2011 publication on the impacts to America’s parks as a result of Congressional underfunding http://www.npca.org/news/reports/made-in-america.html
- 2nd Century Commission – Committee on Funding and Budget Report (PDF)
- NPS ‘Call to Action’ document
The Next Generation of America’s Parks: New Models and Opportunities
Connecting with Urban Communities and New Populations
Organizational Excellence
Visitation and Experiences
Connecting and Conserving Landscapes (Natural)
Connecting and Conserving Landscapes (Cultural)
- Download Summary (PDF)
- Call to Action – NPS Cultural Resources Programs: The National Historic Preservation Act (Act) established a partnership of federal, state, tribal and local governments and public and private agencies to support all Americans in the preservation of our shared heritage. The National Park Service, in addition to its stewardship responsibilities for cultural resources within the National Park System, carries out the Secretary's responsibilities under the Act. The centennial of the National Park Service is also the 50th anniversary of the Act. The Call to Action provides multiple opportunities for the NPS to work with partners to realize the vision of the Act. The NPS has established a forum at the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training website to facilitate this collaboration, to identify opportunities and priorities for preserving our cultural landscapes and the stories of all Americans that they represent.
- Charting a Future for National Heritage Areas (PDF 6.8 MB): This report was requested in 2004 by the Director of the National Park Service and compiled by the National Park System Advisory Board to recommend “the appropriate role if the National Park Service in supporting the National Heritage Area” program. “Charting a Future” was one of the first documents to highlight the positive role National Heritage Areas play in conserving nationally important living landscapes.(PDF 6.8 MB)
- The Indigenous Cultural Landscape of the Eastern Woodlands, (PDF, 29 KB): A Model for Conservation, Interpretation, and Tourism by Deanna Beacham (Weapemeoc): The document was prepared by Deanna Beacham of the Weapemeoc to examine the lifestyles and land use patterns of American Indian peoples of the Chesapeake Bay region and was used by the National Park Service to aid in planning for interpretation and management of the Captain John Smith Trail.
- Considerations for Interpreting American Indian History at Public Sites: An American Indian Perspective (PDF, 7 KB): This document provides several compelling reasons why historic sites including national parks benefit when they add Indian perspectives to their historic interpretation.
- History Forgotten: The Condition of Cultural Resources in the National Park System (PDF, 1.68 MB) was delivered by NPCA’s Center for Park Research Director Gail Dethloff at a November 5, 2011 field hearing before the Subcommittee on National Parks of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources at Mesa Verde National Park. In her testimony Dr. Dethloff draws upon the findings assessments rendered at 80 national park sites to support her conclusion that the state of cultural resource is jeopardized by major challenges including funding, incompatible development, and management.
- National Heritage Areas- Developing a Model for Measuring Success (PDF, 88 KB): A paper by presented by Brenda Barrett and Susanne Copping at the 2004 US/International Council On Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) conference that proposes ways in which the impacts of NHAs can be measured.
- 2010 Annual Report of the Alliance of National Heritage Areas (PDF, 3.69 MB)
- Best Practices in National Heritage Area Development (PDF, 1 MB) presented in 10 case studies by Rosemary Prola, University of Maryland.
- Congressional Research Service Report on the Background, Congressional Proposals and Current Issues of the National Heritage Areas (PDF, 221 KB) published in 2010
