United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office Resources, Community, and Economic Development Division author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 1996-08-23 monographic deposited born digital 36 p. GA 1.13:RCED-96-202 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202 P0b002ee180397870 f:rc96202 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-23 GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202 RCED-96-202 National parks Natural resources Land management National historic sites Conservation Environmental monitoring National recreation areas Historic preservation Crimes or offenses Agency missions National Park System NPS Museum Collections Preservation and Protection Program NPS List of Classified Structures Arches National Park (UT) Crater Lake National Park (OR) Gettysburg National Military Park (PA) Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IN) Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (TX) Minute Man National Historical Park (MA) Olympic National Park (WA) Saguaro National Park (AZ) Letter Report RCED Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed internal threats to the national parks' resources, focusing on the: (1) National Park Service's (NPS) information on the number and types of internal threats; (2) damage these threats have caused; (3) change in the severity of these threats over the past decade; and (4) NPS actions to mitigate these threats.<p/>GAO found that: (1) because NPS does not have a national inventory of internal threats to the park system, it is not fully equipped to meet its mission of preserving and protecting park resources; (2) park managers at the eight parks studied have identified 127 internal threats to their parks' natural and cultural resources; (3) most of these threats are due to the impact of private inholdings or commercial development within the parks, the impact of nonnative wildlife or plants, damage caused by illegal activities, increased visitation, and unintended adverse effects of management actions; (4) park managers believe the parks' most serious threats are caused by shortages in staffing, funding, and resource knowledge; (5) 82 percent of the internal threats have already caused more than minor damage, and cultural or archeological resources have suffered more permanent damage than natural resources in many parks; (6) 61 percent of internal threats, particularly those from increased visitation and serious fires, have worsened over the past decade, 27 percent have stayed about the same, and 11 percent have diminished; (7) park managers lack baseline data needed to judge trends in the severity of internal threats; and (8) some parks are closing trails to reduce erosion, installing more rugged equipment to reduce vandalism, revoking uncooperative operators' permits, and posting signs to inform visitors of the damage from their inappropriate activities. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202/html/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202/pdf/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202.pdf GAO/RCED-96-202 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-RCED-96-202 Letter Report GAO/RCED-96-202; National Park Service: Activities Within Park Borders Have Caused Damage to Resources; National parks Natural resources Land management National historic sites Conservation Environmental monitoring National recreation areas Historic preservation Crimes or offenses Agency missions National Park System NPS Museum Collections Preservation and Protection Program NPS List of Classified Structures Arches National Park (UT) Crater Lake National Park (OR) Gettysburg National Military Park (PA) Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore (IN) Lake Meredith National Recreation Area (TX) Minute Man National Historical Park (MA) Olympic National Park (WA) Saguaro National Park (AZ)