Editing National Park Service (section)

==Budget==
{{See also|United States federal budget|United States budget process}}

In 2019, the NPS had an annual budget of $4.085 billion and an estimated $12 billion maintenance backlog.<ref>{{Cite news|title=National Parks Have a Long To-Do List but Can't Cover the Repair Costs|newspaper=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2016/03/08/466461595/national-parks-have-a-long-to-do-list-but-cant-cover-the-repair-costs|access-date=April 6, 2018|archive-date=May 22, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200522161208/https://www.npr.org/2016/03/08/466461595/national-parks-have-a-long-to-do-list-but-cant-cover-the-repair-costs|url-status=live}}</ref> On August 4, 2020, the [[Great American Outdoors Act]] was signed into law reducing the $12 billion maintenance backlog by $9.5 billion over a 5-year period beginning in FY 2021.<ref>{{cite news|last=Puko|first=Timothy|date=2020-08-04|title=From Yellowstone to Yosemite, National Parks to Get Long-Awaited Overhaul|language=en-US|work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-yellowstone-to-yosemite-national-parks-to-get-long-awaited-overhaul-11596533401|access-date=2020-10-08|issn=0099-9660|archive-date=August 12, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812182818/https://www.wsj.com/articles/from-yellowstone-to-yosemite-national-parks-to-get-long-awaited-overhaul-11596533401|url-status=live}}</ref> As of 2022, the NPS had the largest budget allocation of any [[United States Department of the Interior|Department of the Interior]] bureau or program.<ref>{{cite web |title=Interior Account Table 2023 CR1 |url=https://www.doi.gov/document-library/wildland-fire-management/attachment-12-pm-2023-001-interior-account-table-2023-cr1 |website=www.doi.gov |access-date=2 September 2024 |language=en |date=2 December 2022}}</ref>

The NPS budget is divided into two primary areas, ''discretionary'' and ''mandatory'' spending. Within each of these areas, there are numerous specific purposes to which Congress directs the services activities.<ref name="FY2006">FY 2006 President's Budget, Executive Summary; National Park Service; Government Printing Office; February 7, 2005</ref>

The NPS budget includes ''discretionary'' spending which is broken out into two portions: the direct operations of the National Parks and the special initiatives.<ref name="FY2010">Budget Justification and Performance Information, Fiscal Year 2010, National Park Service, The United States Department of the Interior, 2009</ref> Listed separately are the special initiatives of the service for the year specified in the legislation. During fiscal year 2010, the service was charged with five initiatives. They include: stewardship and education; professional excellence; youth programs; climate change impacts; and budget restructure and realignment.<ref name="FY2010" />

===Discretionary spending===
[[File:NPS Budget (2001-2006).jpg|thumb|NPS ''Operations of the National Parks'' budget from FY 2001-FY 2006]]

Discretionary spending includes the Operations of the National Parks (ONPS), from which all park operations are paid. The [[United States Park Police]] funds cover the high-profile law enforcement operations at some of the large parks, including [[Gateway National Recreation Area]], [[Golden Gate National Recreation Area]], and the [[National Mall]]. The ''National Recreation and Preservation Program'' and the ''Urban Park and Recreation Fund'' are outreach programs to support state and local outdoor recreational activities.<ref name="FY2006" />

The ONPS section of the budget is divided into six operational areas. These areas include:

====Resource stewardship====
These are funds and people directed towards the restoration, preservation, and maintenance of natural and cultural resources. The resource staff includes biologists, geologists, archeologists, museum curators, preservation specialists, and a variety of specialized employees to restore and preserve cultural buildings or natural features.<ref name="FY2010" />

====Visitor services====
The NPS allocates funds obtained from its visitor services for use in public programs and for educational programs for the general public and school groups. Park rangers trained in providing walks, talks, and educational programs to the public frequently conduct such programs. Media specialists prepare exhibits along trails, roads and in visitor contact facilities, as well as written brochures and web-sites.<ref name="FY2010" />

====Park protection====
This includes the staff responding to visitor emergencies (criminal, medical, search and rescue), and the protection of the park's natural and cultural resources from damage by those persons visiting the park. The staff includes [[National Park Service Law Enforcement Rangers|law enforcement rangers]], [[United States Park Police|park police]], lifeguards, criminal investigators, and communication center operators.<ref name="FY2010" /> In many instances they also work with [[List of state and territorial fish and wildlife management agencies in the United States|state and territorial fish and wildlife management agency rangers]].

====Facility maintenance and operations====
This is the cost of maintaining the necessary infrastructure within each park that supports all the services provided. It includes the plows and heavy equipment for road clearing, repairs and construction. There are buildings, trails, roads, docks, boats, utility pipes and wires, and a variety of hidden systems that make a park accessible by the public. The staff includes equipment operators, custodians, trail crews, electricians, plumbers, engineers, architects, and other building trade specialists.<ref name="FY2010" />

====Park support====
This is the staff that provides for the routine logistical needs of the parks. There are human resource specialists, contracting officers, property specialists, budget managers, accountants and information technology specialists.<ref name="FY2010" />

====External administrative costs====
The NPS pays external administrative costs to outside organizations that provide the logistical support that the NPS needs to operate its facilities. These costs include rent payments to the [[General Services Administration]] for building space, postage payments to the postal machine vendor and other direct payments.<ref name="FY2010" />

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto;"
|-
! Functional area
! FY 2010 (in thousands)<ref name="FY2010" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/FY_2010_greenbook.pdf |title=Budget Justification and Performance Information, Fiscal Year 2010, National Park Service, The United States Department of the Interior, 2009 @ nps.gov |access-date=September 24, 2014 |archive-date=April 12, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150412201254/http://www.nps.gov/aboutus/upload/FY_2010_greenbook.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>
! % of total
|-
| Resource stewardship
| {{right|$347,328}}
| {{right|15.3%}}
|-
| Visitor services
| {{right|$247,386}}
| {{right|10.9%}}
|-
| Park protection
| {{right|$368,698}}
| {{right|16.3%}}
|-
| Facility maintenance and operations
| {{right|$705,220}}
| {{right|31.1%}}
|-
| Park support
| {{right|$441,854}}
| {{right|19.5%}}
|-
| External administrative costs
| {{right|$155,530}}
| {{right|6.9%}}
|-
| Total (2010)
| {{right|$2,266,016}}
|
|}

===Land and Water Conservation Fund===
The [[Land and Water Conservation Fund]] (LWCF) supports Land Acquisition and State Conservation Assistance (SCA) grant programs. In 2010, the LWCF began an incremental process to fully fund its programs at a total cost of $900&nbsp;million. The Department of the Interior and the [[United States Forest Service]] use these funds to purchase critical lands to protect existing public lands.

The LWCF also issues grants to States and local jurisdictions to preserve and protect Civil War battlefield sites that are not part of the national park system. The SCA program distributes funds for land preservation to individual states.<ref name="FY2010" />

===Historic Preservation Fund===
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 set the federal vision for historic preservation in the United States. To support the vision and framework laid out in this act, the Historic Preservation Fund (HPF) was established in 1977 to provide financial assistance to, originally, states, to carry out activities related to preservation. Funding is provided from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas lease revenues, not tax dollars, and an amount is appropriated annually by Congress. Awards from the HPF are made to States, Tribes, Territories, local governments, and non-profits.<ref>{{cite web |title=Historic Preservation Fund - Historic Preservation |url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/historic-preservation-fund.htm |date=October 19, 2021 |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=National Park Service |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108155350/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/historicpreservation/historic-preservation-fund.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Two specific programs include the [[Save America's Treasures]] and the [[Preserve America]]. The Historic Preservation Offices makes grants available to the States, territories, and tribal lands.<ref name="FY2010" /> To honor the 250th anniversary of the United States, Congress authorized the Semiquincentennial Grant in 2020 to support the preservation of State owned sites and structures listed on the National Register of Historic Places that commemorate the founding of the nation.<ref>{{cite web |title=Semiquincentennial Grant Opportunity |url=https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/semiquincentennial-grant-opportunity.htm |access-date=2022-11-08 |website=National Park Service |language=en |archive-date=November 8, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221108160048/https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/semiquincentennial-grant-opportunity.htm |url-status=live }}</ref>

===Economic benefits===
The NPS affects economies at national, state, and local levels. According to a 2011 Michigan State University report prepared for the NPS, for each $1 invested in the NPS, the American public receives $4 in economic value. In 2011, national parks generated $30.1 billion in economic activity and 252,000 jobs nationwide. Thirteen billion of that amount went directly into communities within 60 miles of a NPS unit.

In a 2017 study, the NPS found that 331 million park visitors spent $18.2 billion in local areas around National Parks across the nation. This spending helped support 306,000 jobs. The NPS expenditures supported $297 million in economic output in Missouri alone.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yue|first1=Cui|last2=Mahoney|first2=Ed|last3=Herbowicz|first3=Teresa|year=2013|title=Economic Benefits to Local Communities from National Park Visitation – 2011|url=http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/docs/NPSSystemEstimates2011.pdf|website=United States. National Park Service, Department of the Interior|location=Washington, D.C.|access-date=April 17, 2013|archive-date=July 6, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130706135908/http://www.nature.nps.gov/socialscience/docs/NPSSystemEstimates2011.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Despite these economic advantages in February 2025 in an effort to decrease federal spending over 1,000 NPS employees were fired, leaving many sites grossly understaffed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-18 |title=Trump's firing of 1,000 national park workers raises concerns about maintenance and operating hours |url=https://apnews.com/article/trump-national-park-firings-doge-grand-teton-baedee0a748a6374eafb6f95aac5dadc |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=AP News |language=en}}</ref>