Questions about RPRS
e-mail us [NRSS_RPRS (at) nps.gov] if you need support with technical problems like software bugs, browser issues, and process errors. Please do not ask park research coordinators for technical assistance with RPRS.
If you are a Dept. of the Interior employee (e.g. USGS researcher), your email address is managed by the Active Directory and encoded in the credentials on your PIV card.
If you are not a DOI employee, the only place to update your email address is in your login.gov account. Whatever email address is listed as the primary one in your login.gov account is the one that will appear in RPRS. If you update it in login.gov, the change will carry over the next time you access RPRS. Once logged in to RPRS, you can see your current email address and other information by going to Investigators > Edit Work Contact Information.
If you are not a DOI employee, the only place to update your email address is in your login.gov account. Whatever email address is listed as the primary one in your login.gov account is the one that will appear in RPRS. If you update it in login.gov, the change will carry over the next time you access RPRS. Once logged in to RPRS, you can see your current email address and other information by going to Investigators > Edit Work Contact Information.
Yes. You might want a colleague to view your permits and reports, edit them, or submit them on your behalf. As long as they also have an RPRS investigator account, you can grant them access privileges. See the directions for making another person an "agent" on your account.
If you expect to give up or lose access to the email address you use for RPRS and there are projects that should continue (e.g. with active permits and reports that are due) it's important that you transfer your account to another person BEFORE you lose access to your email. That person must already have an RPRS account and Investigator Profile. After the transfer, they will be able to access everything in the account -- your applications, permits, reports, etc. They can submit required reports, which will have your name on them. They can renew permits, which then will have their name on them.
You can make such a transfer only once, and it is permanent. If you transfer your account data to someone, you will no longer see it. If you log in after transferring, your Investigator Dashboard will contain no files.
You can make such a transfer only once, and it is permanent. If you transfer your account data to someone, you will no longer see it. If you log in after transferring, your Investigator Dashboard will contain no files.
Questions about applications and permits
Please see Research and Collecting Permit Overview and Guidelines for Study Proposals. Those two pages provide a general summary of the NPS research permit system and specific guidance on what to include in a proposal.
Yes. There are General Conditions that apply to all research permits in all parks. A park may additionally have its own conditions, which you can see on the park profile, accessed via the Search > Parks menu option in RPRS. It is worth reviewing these before you apply for a permit.
Yes. In RPRS, go to Search > Investigator Annual Reports to find brief summaries of past studies. More detailed reports, data, photos, maps, etc. from previously completed studies can be found by conducting searches in NPS Datastore and by contacting the park curator for data submitted for inclusion in the park archives.
Some parks list their priority needs for scientific information. Use the Search > Parks menu option in RPRS to find a park’s profile. On the profile there is a section titled “Research Preferences.” You can also go to Search > Research Needs in Parks and enter a variety of criteria. Your research does not have to address a park’s stated information needs or management priorities in order to be permitted.
Each park has a research coordinator who will be your primary contact. That person’s name and email address can be found by using the Search > Parks menu option in RPRS to find a park’s profile. The profile may also include email addresses for the park curator, superintendent, and others.
Yes, but you must apply to each park separately because permitting decisions can only be made at the individual park level. Once you submit an application to one park, it is easy to use it as a template for the next park. When proposing a project in multiple parks, state in the project description that the study applies to multiple parks, so all the park research coordinators have the broader context. Please note that one park’s decision on your application has no bearing on another park’s decision.
No. When you apply, the system notifies the research coordinator. If your application remains in the system longer than 15 days without being opened for review, RPRS automatically sends a reminder message to the research coordinator. If several weeks have gone by without a decision, email the research coordinator directly to inquire about your application's status.
e-mail us [NRSS_RPRS (at) nps.gov] with specific information about your technical issue, including a screenshot. If the situation is urgent, you may additionally contact the park’s research coordinator for advice. You may need to email files directly to the research coordinator.
In some cases, yes. The park’s research coordinator will set the expiration date when issuing the permit. However, it is in both your and the park’s interest to have a permit expire at the end of the year and then to renew it if necessary. Renewing is simple. A short term with renewal allows you and the park to accommodate inevitable changes (e.g., in protocols, study locations, personnel, permit conditions, the condition of park resources) without generating extra administrative steps.
Yes, you may! And if you have, or are contemplating, an NSF grant, consider that engaging with park visitors can be a great way to broaden the impact of your research.
Please do so in collaboration with park staff. Many parks are keenly interested in communicating about science to park visitors in person or online. And many visitors are thrilled to see and learn about science happening in parks, even from scientists themselves. The opportunities are diverse (a campground presentation, a podcast, a web article, a citizen science project, etc.) so please let the research coordinator know of your interests and ask to be connected to the park’s Interpretation and Education staff well in advance. This article illustrates some of what can be done collaboratively. As with your Investigator Annual Report, certain information should not be made public. The research coordinator will advise on such restrictions.
Please do so in collaboration with park staff. Many parks are keenly interested in communicating about science to park visitors in person or online. And many visitors are thrilled to see and learn about science happening in parks, even from scientists themselves. The opportunities are diverse (a campground presentation, a podcast, a web article, a citizen science project, etc.) so please let the research coordinator know of your interests and ask to be connected to the park’s Interpretation and Education staff well in advance. This article illustrates some of what can be done collaboratively. As with your Investigator Annual Report, certain information should not be made public. The research coordinator will advise on such restrictions.
Questions about reporting
Yes. Per the conditions printed on your permit, you must file a brief Investigator Annual Report every year that your permit is active. You must also provide copies of significant products at the end of your study (e.g., final reports, copies of peer-reviewed publications, conference abstracts). The park’s research coordinator will review them and make them available to park staff, other NPS employees, and/or the public depending on the sensitivity of information and copyright restrictions.
Reports provide the park with invaluable scientific knowledge that can inform management of public NPS lands. They also provide other researchers and many public audiences scientific information about public lands. Making this information available for public benefit is part of the rationale for permitting scientific research in parks.
Reports provide the park with invaluable scientific knowledge that can inform management of public NPS lands. They also provide other researchers and many public audiences scientific information about public lands. Making this information available for public benefit is part of the rationale for permitting scientific research in parks.
Your permit will specify the reporting requirements, and the park’s research coordinator and curator can provide additional guidance. The Investigator Annual Report (IAR) form in RPRS has a field for a brief description of your activities and key findings in that year. IARs are meant to be publicly available, so you should write for a general non-specialist public audience and avoid including information that should not be made public. You may also attach files containing more comprehensive data, results, analyses, and conclusions.
Questions about collected specimens
Curatorial requirements are those actions which researchers who collect specimens and/or data from national parks must take, consistent with the permit requirements, to ensure the preservation and accessibility of those materials as part of the museum collection. Not all permits will include such requirements.
The NPS objectives include the commitment to collect, document, and preserve objects, specimens, samples, and associated records as defined within a park's approved scope of collection. These ensure scientific replicability of the research conducted at a park. They include:
The NPS objectives include the commitment to collect, document, and preserve objects, specimens, samples, and associated records as defined within a park's approved scope of collection. These ensure scientific replicability of the research conducted at a park. They include:
- Documenting and identifying specimens
- Preparing and labeling specimens to be permanently retained in park collections
- Cataloging specimens to be permanently retained in park collections
- Submitting specimens and associated data/field documentation to the park consistent with the permit requirements
- Depositing shelf-ready (for long term preservation storage) specimens and associated data in an approved NPS or non-NPS museum repository
Yes, as long as you are continuing to report annually in the Investigator’s Annual Report (IAR) on the status of the project including the specific status of the collections. Once you report on the IAR that the project is completed, you must have followed the permit disposition instructions for the specimens/samples/material. Contact the park curator to confirm disposition and your related responsibilities before reporting a project completed on the IAR.
The permit will state in the section entitled Specimen Collection the “Proposed Disposition of Specimens or Materials.” If you later propose a different disposition, contact the park's research coordinator.
Unless stated otherwise in a permit, the General Conditions require permittees to accomplish this work within the scopes and budgets of their projects.
Contact the curator for specific instructions. If the curator’s contact information is not on the park profile in RPRS, ask the research coordinator. The park may also provide guidance on these tasks in the Park Specific Research Conditions or Park Collection Permit Conditions on the park profile.
Contact the park curator for specific instructions. If the curator’s contact information is not on the Park Information tab, ask the research coordinator for the curator’s contact information. The guidance varies but generally is as follows:
- If the proposed recipient is identified in your permit, you may send the specimen or sample using your own documentation procedures. Separate NPS documentation is generally not required.
- If the proposed recipient is NOT identified in your permit AND the specimen/sample/Material is authorized in the permit for consumption or discard, you may work with the curator to have the recipient’s institution and the park sign an NPS Collected Specimen Transfer Agreement (CSTA) or Material Transfer Agreement (MTA), as applicable, and then you may send the specimen/sample/Material to the proposed recipient.
- If the proposed recipient is NOT identified in your permit AND the specimen/sample/Material is identified for permanent retention in the NPS collections, work with the park curator to catalog the collected specimen or Material and have the curator complete a loan agreement with the proposed recipient’s institution before sending the collected specimen/sample/Material to the proposed recipient.
Contact the park's research coordinator and curator to update permit information and any other information about the research and specimens.
Last updated: October 1, 2024