Park Planning

What is Park Planning?

Planning in the National Park Service informs, facilitates, and guides decision making for parks and related areas, supporting the protection of resources and management of NPS assets while providing opportunities for visitor enjoyment. Park planning helps define the set of resource conditions, visitor experiences, and management actions that, taken as a whole, will best achieve the mandate to preserve resources unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations. This work is accomplished through collaboration with various NPS programs to meet park planning needs.

Learn More about Planning

For more information about the NPS Park Planning program, please visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/planningHome.cfm.

For more information about PARK’s planning program, please contact the park superintendent at [insert generic park superintendent email address].

Park Planning Portfolio (optional)

The National Park Service planning framework centers on the concept of the park planning portfolio. Every national park unit has its own planning portfolio, which consists of the planning documents that currently guide decision making and satisfy law and policy at the park. A park’s planning portfolio extends from its foundation document to site-specific implementation plans. The portfolio structure encourages the use of targeted planning products to meet a broad range of park planning needs. The exact contents of a planning portfolio vary for each park unit. The following documents contribute to PARK’s planning portfolio.

[Park, here, please work with your regional Planning Portfolio Manager to identify appropriate planning documents to include.]

[For each planning document listed, list plan name and date, and link to the plan’s location on PEPC, if available. If digital copy is not available or if the park does not wish to link to documents, a bulleted list is fine. Remember that all documents posted to the public website must be 508 compliant. Readers can contact the superintendent if more information is needed.]

Example:
• Foundation Document (2014)
• General Management Plan (1986)
• Backcountry Management Plan (2006)
• Entrance Area and Road Corridor Development Concept Plan (1997)
• Vehicle Management Plan (2012)
• Resource Stewardship Strategy (2009)
• Long-Range Transportation Plan (2018)

Ongoing Planning

To learn more about ongoing planning projects for PARK and opportunities to provide input on planning projects, please visit https://parkplanning.nps.gov/.

 

Planning for Our Parks

The National Park Service (NPS) plans for one purpose - to ensure that the decisions it makes will be carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible. The National Park Service prepares a variety of planning and environmental documents to help guide management of park resources. Planning provides methods and tools for resolving issues in ways that minimize conflicts and promotes mutually beneficial solutions - solutions that articulate how public enjoyment of the parks can be part of a strategy for ensuring that resources are protected unimpaired for future generations.

Yukon-Charley Rivers Planning Portfolio

Park managers are guided by a variety of plans and studies, covering many topics. The totality of a park’s plans is referred to as the Portfolio of Management Plans (portfolio). The portfolio is a dynamic compilation of planning guidance in which certain planning elements are removed and updated, or new elements added as needed. For Alaska, the portfolio consists of basic descriptions of a park’s purpose, such as the Foundation Statement, Land Protection Plans, Wilderness Character Narrative, Park Atlas, and Wild and Scenic River Value Statements; comprehensive plans, such as a General Management Plan and Master Plan; implementation plans, such as a site management plan, transportation plan and fire management plan; and strategic program plans, such as a long-range interpretive plan. The above lists are examples of the types of planning elements that could be found in a portfolio. Each park’s portfolio of management plans will be composed of a unique set of plans designed specifically to help manage that particular unit.

Explore the Yukon-Charley Rivers Porfolio of Management Plans

NEPA/Compliance

NEPA is the acronym for the National Environmental Policy Act. This act, passed in 1969, laid the foundation for environmental protection in the United States by setting policy goals for the federal government. Two major requirements of the act are that agencies analyze the environmental impacts of federal actions and engage the public in the decision-making process.

The first step in the park planning process involves defining the proposed action. For most projects, the next step in the planning process is to determine the appropriate pathway for NEPA documentation based on the proposed action’s level of impact to the environment. If the proposed action will not have significant impacts to the environment, the park utilizes a categorical exclusion. If it is unclear whether or not the proposed action will have significant environmental impacts, the park prepares an environmental assessment (EA). If the proposed action will have significant environmental impacts, the park prepares an environmental impact statement (EIS).

Explore the Yukon-Charley Rivers NEPA Documents

 

 

Even if the formal public review period for a planning document is closed, you can still offer your thoughts to us. We welcome your voice at any stage of the planning process.

 

Explore the Management section of our website for information on Laws & Policies, Firearms Information, Fire Management, and more.