NPS Mission - National Park Service

National Park Service FY 2013 Budget Justifications
advice and technical assistance regarding cultural programming in the traditional arts to various NPS
units through a cooperative agreement.
Parks as Classrooms Program: “Parks as Classrooms” promotes innovative education programs that
combine place-based education opportunities in park settings with classroom study.
Servicewide Publications: Park brochures and handbooks developed by Harpers Ferry Center orient
visitors to parks, supply these visitors with up-to-date interpretive, logistical, and safety information, and
serve as a otool to provide the official expression of the park and its resources, and the responsible use
of those resources. They are known for their reliability, thoroughness, visual appeal, and standardized
mapping and design that contribute to the National Park Service graphic identity. Park unigrid brochures
are a continually replenished, consumable product. Currently, there are 376 brochures and 54 handbooks
in print. In 2011, more than 24 million copies of brochures were delivered at an average printing cost of
about seven cents each, a model of business efficiency and cost-effectiveness emulated by other
agencies and park systems. Servicewide funding for printing park brochures is supplemented by park
base funds and 20 percent Recreation fee revenue as needed.
Volunteers-in-Parks Program (VIP): The VIP Program is authorized by the Volunteers-In-The-Parks Act
of 1969. It provides a means through which the NPS can accept and utilize voluntary help and services
from the public. Volunteers work side-by-side in partnership with NPS employees to preserve America's
heritage and provide interpretive, educational, and recreational opportunities. NPS volunteers are parents
who want to be good stewards of the land and set examples for their children, retired people willing to
share their wealth of knowledge, concerned citizens of all ages who want to learn more about
conservation, and passionate youth who enjoy the outdoors and want to spread the word about America's
greatest natural treasures. In FY 2011 there were 229,000 volunteers in 375 national park sites,
programs, and offices. The number of volunteers increased four percent over FY 2010, from 221,000 to
229,000 volunteers, and the number of volunteer hours increased by seven percent, from 6.4 million to
6.8 million. The average hourly rate per volunteer in FY 2011 was $21.36 with a total value to the NPS of
$146 million. The VIP program continues to be a major force in accomplishing the NPS mission.
At a Glance…
New River Gorge National River
The highlight of FY 2011’s volunteer program was the
mountain bike trail construction project taken on by the
ArrowCorps Five members of the Boy Scouts of America. A
total of 1,404 scouts, leaders, and parents gave 78,544 hours
of volunteer service to the park during June and July to
building a new mountain bike trail within the park. Through the
scouts hard work and dedication to the project, they and the
park now have an additional 13 miles of trails available for the
public to use and enjoy. The park’s traditional volunteers, local
residents and visiting groups continued to make an impact on
the park’s everyday operations and assist with on-going
New River Gorge Bridge Day Festival projects. They provided a total of 23,145 hours of service to the
park during FY 2011. With the construction of a new volunteer
recreational vehicle pad at Thurmond, the park can better serve the visitors through the use of regular
volunteers at the historic Thurmond Depot. Many local volunteers helped make the Bridge Day Festival,
the peregrine falcon reintroduction program, and the bald eagle nesting site monitoring a success. The
park is seeing more and more groups and organizations coming to New River Gorge to recreate (rafting,
rock climbing, camping, hiking, biking, etc.) and to give a day of service to the park. These groups
cleaned up decades-old dumpsites, performed trail maintenance, rehabilitated historic cemeteries,
cleaned the interior and exterior of historic buildings, and removed exotic plant species.
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