NPS Mission - National Park Service

National Park Service FY 2013 Budget Justifications
Reduce Support for Unit Management Plans (FY 2012 Base: $6,903,000 / FY 2013 Request:
-$225,000 / -1 FTE) – The Unit Management Planning effort was reduced as part of a re-engineering
process to make the program more robust and efficient. In FY 2013, the program will continue to redirect
resources from full-scale general management plans that are costly to produce and take years to
complete, and utilize resources for the production of foundation documents and smaller scale plans. The
program seeks a balance between statutory requirements, fiscal realities, and timeliness. New planning
efforts will be smaller in scope and existing plans will be amended, where feasible, although a traditional
general management plan could be conducted if necessary to meet park planning needs. The NPS seeks
to redirect the capacity of regional planning offices so as to better meet park planning needs. In total,
these efforts will further the interests of the NPS as a whole by providing lower cost products to a greater
number of parks than could be previously be served. This will address park planning needs in a timely
and more efficient way. Production of foundation documents will be a key program emphasis, so that by
FY 2016 park units system-wide will have a firm basis for all management and planning decisions.
Reduce Support for Special Resource Studies (FY 2012 Base: $2,412,000 / FY 2013 Request: -
$225,000 / -1 FTE) – Special Resource Studies are directed by Congress to collect information about
candidate areas to determine if they meet established criteria for significance, suitability, and feasibility as
potential additions to the national park system. Products vary in complexity and duration depending on
the scope of the study. Funding can be reduced in the short-term due to the current level of authorized
study requests.
Land Acquisition and State Assistance
Increase Federal Land Acquisition (FY 2012 Base: $47,484,000 / FY 2013 Request: +$2,437,000) –
Of the $2.437 million increase in LWCF funds requested for Land Acquisition, funding would be
distributed to increase the Acquisition subactivities as discussed below:
• Emergencies, Hardships, Relocations, and Deficiencies (+$74,000) – An increase of $0.074
million would provide a minimal increase to this targeted element of the Acquisition program. The
increased level of funding would permit the Service to address the increasing numbers of willing
sellers who need quick resolution of their transactions. These funds can also be used to address
Emergencies within the Inholding parks, and for Hardship, Relocation, and Deficiency cases (see
description below). These acquisitions must still meet required authorization and prioritization
guidelines. Unless there is a sudden, expensive emergency acquisition, this level of funding would
permit the approximately 50 transaction requests currently in the queue to be addressed in a more
timely manner, which is particularly critical in emergency situations.
• Inholdings, Donations, and Exchanges (+$1,372,000) – An increase of $1.372 million would
restore this targeted element of the Acquisition program to a more viable level, given the costs per
acre of these older properties. The increased level of funding for this targeted acquisition element
would permit the Service to address the increasing numbers of willing sellers who need quick
resolution of their transactions, within the parks acquired prior to FY 1960. Additionally, these funds
can address Donations and Exchanges (see description below). These acquisitions must still meet
required authorization and prioritization guidelines. Unless there is a sudden, expensive single
transaction, this level of funding would permit the approximately 60 transaction requests currently in
the queue to be attended to in a more timely manner.
• Federal Land Acquisition Projects (+$991,000) – An increase of $0.991 million in Federal land
acquisition funding would bring total funding to $31.502 million, of which $20.179 million is for core
acquisition projects that will facilitate the accomplishment of the NPS mission and improve the
management of park units. The remaining $11.323 million is for the NPS acquisitions within the joint
Department of Interior and Department of Agriculture’s Collaborative Landscape Planning effort to
target key focal areas across the Nation. As part of the landscape program, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM), the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Park Service (NPS)
collaborated extensively with the Forest Service (USFS) and with government and local community
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