Department of the Interior, 1849 C Street NW., Washington, DC 20240

202-208-6843
http://www.nps.gov



DIRECTOR	Jonathan B. Jarvis

The National Park Service (NPS) was established in the Department of the Interior on August 25, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 1).

http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/index.htm

The National Park Service protects the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the benefit of present and future generations. The National Park System comprises 401 units. These units include national parks, monuments and memorials, battlefield sites and national military parks, scenic parkways, preserves and reserves, trails and riverways, rivers and lakeshores and seashores, recreation areas, and historic sites of American or international importance. The Service also manages a variety of national and international programs to promote natural and cultural resource conservation and to expand the benefits of outdoor recreation.

The NPS develops and implements park management plans and staffs the areas under its administration. Through exhibits, films, publications talks, tours, and other interpretive media, it promotes the natural values of these areas and communicates their historical significance to the public. The NPS operates a range of visitor facilities, including campgrounds, and provides a variety of food, lodging, and transportation services.

The National Park Service also administers the State portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund, State comprehensive outdoor recreation planning, nationwide outdoor recreation coordination and information, the National Register of Historic Places and the National Trails System, natural area programs, national historic landmarks and historic preservation, technical preservation services, the historic American engineering record and buildings survey, interagency archeological services, and planning and technical assistance for the national wild and scenic rivers system.

Sources of Information

America the Beautiful Passes

A pass may be used at more than 2,000 Federal recreation sites. A pass covers entrance fees at national parks and national wildlife refuges, as well as standard amenity fees and day use fees at national forests and grasslands and at lands managed by the Bureaus of Land Management and Reclamation and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Five types of America the Beautiful passes are available: access, annual, annual fourth grade, senior, and volunteer.

https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm

Business Opportunities

Visit the "Doing Business With Us" Web page to find information on commercial tours, contracts and procurement, National Park concessions, and special park uses, including commercial filming.

http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/doingbusinesswithus.htm

Career Opportunities

To find permanent and seasonal NPS career opportunities online, visit USAJobs, the Federal Government's official source for Federal job listings.

https://my.usajobs.gov

Additional information on internships, permanent careers, seasonal opportunities, and volunteering is available on the "Work With Us" Web page.

http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/workwithus.htm

Directories

An online text box allows Internet visitors to search for NPS employees by last name.

https://www.nps.gov/directory

A park directory (SEP 2016) that includes park addresses, codes, phone numbers, and superintendents is available online in Portable Document Format (PDF).

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/NPS-Park-Listing-09-01-16.pdf

Find a Park

Visitors to the NPS Web site may search for a park by name or by State.

https://www.nps.gov/findapark/index.htm

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Instructions for submitting a FOIA request to obtain NPS records are available online.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/index.htm

The NPS Web site features an electronic FOIA library.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/foia/foia-reading-room.htm

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The NPS Web site has answers to these questions.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/faqs.htm

Glossaries

The NPS's National Center for Preservation Technology and Training maintains an extensive glossary of building stone terms.

https://ncptt.nps.gov/buildingstone/glossary

The online series "Defining the Southwest" includes a glossary of terms that are often encountered in discussions of the cultures and environments of the American Southwest.

https://www.nps.gov/articles/southwest-glossary.htm

A glossary of geologic terms that the NPS and U.S. Geological Survey western Earth surface processes team compiled is available on the NPS Web site.

http://www.nature.nps.gov/geology/usgsnps/misc/glossaryAtoC.html | Email: parkgeology@den.nps.gov

Grants

Information is available online for grants authorized under the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Phone, 202-354-6900.

http://www.nps.gov/lwcf/index.htm

Information is also available online for grants authorized under the Historic Preservation Fund. Phone, 202-354-2067.

http://www.nps.gov/preservation-grants

News

The NPS posts new releases online.

https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/news/news-releases.htm

The NPS Web site features a multimedia section that includes audio, photographs, videos, and webcam.

https://www.nps.gov/media/multimedia-search.htm

The NPS tweets announcements and other newsworthy items on Twitter.

https://twitter.com/natlparkservice

The NPS maintains a Facebook page.

https://www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice

Publications

To explain decisions, document information, and disseminate knowledge, the NPS uses a variety of publications, many of which are accessible online. For example, "The National Parks: Index 2012–2016" can be downloaded as a PDF. The "Publications" Web page offers online access to contemporary and historic reports, periodicals, virtual stacks, and public databases.

http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/publications.htm

Some publications are available for purchase in hardcopy from the U.S. Government Bookstore. Phone, 202-512-1800. Phone, 866-512-1800.

https://bookstore.gpo.gov/agency/222 | Email: contactcenter@gpo.gov