SERVICEWIDE LAWS AND POLICIES - Visitor Experience and Park Use Requirements

Laws and Policies

SERVICEWIDE LAWS AND POLICIES - Visitor Experience and Park Use Requirements

Current laws and policies require that the following conditions be achieved in the parks regarding visitor experience and park use:

	Desired Condition: Visitor and employee safety and health are protected.

	*Source:* NPS Management Policies National Environmental Policy Act

	Desired Condition: Visitors understand and appreciate park values and resources and have the information necessary to adapt to park environments; visitors have opportunities to enjoy the parks in ways that leave park resources unimpaired for future generations.

	*Source:* NPS Organic Act Monuments' enabling legislation NPS Management Policies

	Desired Condition: Park recreational uses are promoted and regulated and basic visitor needs are met in keeping with park purposes.

	*Source:* NPS Organic Act Monuments' enabling legislation Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations (Table of Contents) NPS Management Policies

	Desired Condition: All reasonable efforts will be made to make NPS facilities, programs, and services accessible to and usable by all people, including those with disabilities.

	*Source:* Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 Rehabilitation Act of 1973 NPS Management Policies

	Desired Condition: Visitors who use federal facilities and services for outdoor recreation may be required to pay a greater share of the cost of providing those opportunities than the population as a whole.

	*Source:* NPS Management Policies 1998 Executive Summary to Congress, Recreational Fee Demonstration Program, Progress Report to Congress, Volume I -- Overview and Summary (U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management; U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service)

	Desired Condition: The park has identified implementation commitments for visitor carrying capacities for all areas of the unit.

	*Source:* National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978 (P.L. 95-625) NPS Management Policies

These laws, regulations, and policies leave considerable room for judgment regarding the best mix of types and levels of visitor use activities, programs, and facilities. For this reason, most decisions related to visitor experience and use are addressed in the Decide What Might Be Achieved section and in the alternatives. However, the authority to charge fees is dictated by law and is therefore the same for all alternatives.The Land and Water Conservation Fund Act (16 USC 460l et seq.) allows NPS to collect recreation fees of the appropriate type for its parks, facilities, and programs. Fees are to be reasonable and are determined in accordance with the criteria and procedures contained in the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act and regulations in 36 CFR 71. Fees collected under this authority are returned to the U.S. Treasury. Fees are also being collected for special park uses under 16 U.S.C. 3(a) and 31 U.S.C. 3701, in accordance with OMB Circular A-25. Under this authority, NPS recovers the costs incurred for providing special park uses, but returns to the U.S. Treasury any revenues in excess of costs.Congress authorized the recreational fee demonstration program to begin on October 1, 1995, and to end on September 30, 2002. The program authorizes NPS and other agencies to implement and test new fees. The program allows the participating agencies to retain all of the demonstration project revenues and to retain at least 80 percent of the revenues at the sites where they are collected. These revenues yield substantial benefits because they provide on-the-ground improvements at local recreation sites. For NPS, the majority of new recreation fee revenues are dedicated to reducing identified backlogged maintenance, infrastructure, and resource management needs. Some of the demonstration fee revenues are reinvested into infrastructure and new collection methodologies to prepare additional areas to collect fees and provide for overall collection efficiency across NPS.Regulations governing visitor use and behavior in units of the National Park System are contained in Title 36 of the Code of Federal Regulations and Superintendent's Compendium. These regulations have force of law and address a number of use limitations, such as limits on commercial activities. Under the 1978 National Parks and Recreation Act (P.L. 95-625), NPS is required to address the issue of carrying capacity in its general management plans. The concept of carrying capacity is intended to safeguard the quality of park resources and visitor experiences. Identifying desired resource conditions and visitor experience by zone is part of general management planning. At this level of decision making, the desired resource conditions and experiences describe carrying capacity in qualitative terms. These qualitative terms are then translated into quantitative standards over time during implementation planning.