National Park Service: Activities Outside Park Borders Have Caused Damage
to Resources and Will Likely Cause More (Letter Report, 01/03/94,
GAO/RCED-94-59).

Activities outside the boundaries of the national parks, including
pollution generated by power plants and manufacturers, are threatening
unique natural and cultural resources.  The Park Service, however, is
unaware of the extent to which these resources are being threatened
because it does not maintain an inventory of the number, types, and
sources of threats or the damage caused. The Park Service needs this
information to pinpoint and counter the most urgent threats.  The Park
Service has a resource planning system to identify resource management
problems but does not use it to identify and inventory threats.  GAO
surveyed park managers, who identified more than 600 threats that fell
into the following categories: urban encroachment, water quantity and
quality issues, air pollution, and human activities.  Park managers
claim that about two-thirds of the threats have already resulted in
damage, including diminished scenic views, polluted streams, and
destruction of wildlife and habitat.  Furthermore, they expect that
virtually all of the threats will inflict additional damage during the
next five years.  Although park managers say that action has been taken
to counter more than half of the threats, this typically involved
community outreach, which requires the cooperation of multiple parties
and often is the first step toward minimizing damage to park resources.

--------------------------- Indexing Terms -----------------------------

 REPORTNUM:  RCED-94-59
     TITLE:  National Park Service: Activities Outside Park Borders Have 
             Caused Damage to Resources and Will Likely Cause
             More
      DATE:  01/03/94
   SUBJECT:  National parks
             Conservation
             Environmental policies
             Land management
             Environmental legislation
             Natural resources
             National historic sites
             Environmental monitoring
             National recreation areas
             Pollution
IDENTIFIER:  Superfund Program
             
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