Foreward
The National Park Service conducts servicewide, park-specific, and program-specific planning. This document contains the NPS policies, director’s order, and standards for park planning, through which the NPS mission and mission goals described in the NPS servicewide strategic plan are further refined into goals and actions specific to each park. This document does not directly address servicewide or program-specific planning, although they may share common elements and processes with park planning.
The planning and decision-making framework presented here shows the interrelationships between all the park-level planning and decision making that occurs across the National Park Service, regardless of which program area it is associated with (general management planning, resource management, implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act, park management, etc.). Unlike the previous park planning guideline, which was a detailed guideline for the general management planning program, this document provides general direction for coordinating and integrating all NPS park planning, and it has been prepared in cooperation with all the programs with an interest in park planning and decision making. The last chapter describes how the responsibilities of the various programs can interrelate and support one another to make the most efficient use of funds expended for planning and decision making, whether they are coming from the general management planning program, one of the resource management programs, one of the visitor service programs, the construction program, or the operating base funds of the parks or their support offices.
In an effort to compile and integrate all NPS park-planning-related guidance, this document incorporates and summarizes information from other NPS orders and guidelines. The intent is to compile and integrate, not replace, servicewide guidance related specifically to park planning, whether it is associated with the general management planning program, the resource management programs (including compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act), the visitor services programs, the construction program, or the performance management system being implemented to comply with the Government Performance and Results Act.
This document is supplemented by a number of reference manuals intended to assist employees in producing general management plans; the park strategic plans, performance plans, and reports required by the Government Performance and Results Act; the various implementation plans related to resource management, visitor use, planning, and construction; and the environmental impact statements and environmental assessments required by the National Environmental Policy Act. The principle guidelines are listed below: