National Park Service: History, Funding, and Leadership

Introduction and Agency Overview

One of the defining characteristics of the United States is the diversity of its landscape, its biomes, and the incredible amount of natural resources available. Because it was resettled by Europeans relatively late in the historical span of human culture, much of those resources remained fresh and pristine far longer than in other settled regions. However, with the advent of western expansion in the 1800s, the building of a transcontinental railway, and increased mining, large-scale farming and ranching, and industrialization, those pristine areas were frequently placed at risk. Since 1872, the United States National Park System has grown from a small, single-park managerial service to one of the less politically visible but nevertheless important trustees of American natural resources. From Yellowstone National Park to over 450 natural, historical, recreational, and cultural treasures, the National Park System manages over 21,000 people through the Department of the Interior and dedicates its energy and resources toward education and preservation (Lee, 1972).

Any program designed for the public good is by its nature inextricably linked to politics — not only through motive but in many instances through more practical elements as well. The political system provides directives and often the financial support for these programs, and thus the programs themselves are prone to many of the same strengths and weaknesses as the political system. Consequently, the quality of a public service organization will be deeply and directly contingent upon the quality of its political structure. In particular, the processes and policies of the organization will bear a reciprocal relationship with the manner in which resources are allocated. It is therefore essential for an organization to have constructed an explicit and standardized mode by which policies are carried out, skills and qualifications are identified, and personal attributes are utilized in addressing the macro-organizational factors of creating and managing organizational culture. The quality of efforts with respect to organizational culture, in some contexts, will impact not just the internal orientation of an organization but also the image it projects to the mainstream public (McDonell and MacKintosh, 2006; Davis, 2001).

This makes the National Park Service (NPS) a particularly interesting case for the examination of organizational theory, design, and change — given its remarkable success as a management organization and yet its continued struggles with funding and the impact those struggles have on its operative goals. The discussion that follows takes a direct interest in the National Park Service's history, challenges, funding, politics, and future, along with an organizational analysis of the NPS.