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Keeping Track of What The National Park Service Is Up To In Your State

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A new Internet feature provided by the National Park Service lets you search the country state-by-state to explore the National Park System...and lots of other Park Service-affiliated sites, such as wild and scenic rivers, historic register sites, or historic trails.

As it continues to improve its web presence, the National Park Service has made it easier for you to find information on the parks in your state...as well as on other Park Service-related entities, such as properties on the national register, or wild and scenic rivers, or historic trails.

To find your home state, or any state that interests you for that matter, simply type in the core url of the Park Service -- www.nps.gov/ -- and follow that forward slash with the name of the state you want to explore. So if you wanted to research Utah, it'd look like this: www.nps.gov/utah .

On the resulting landing page you'll find a map of the state dotted with locations of NPS-affiliated sites, whether they be national parks, national monuments, wild and scenic rivers, historic sites, locations on the national register, historic trails, you name it.

Position your cursor over a dot and a box opens explaining what the dot represents. Click on the name, or one of the names, that appears and you'll be taken to a page that provides some background on that specific site.

These pages also offer a list of the Park Service-connected highlights you can find in the specific state you're researching, provide a "by the numbers" breakdown of the Park Service in that state, and even let you add or remove layers of data. So, for instance, if you simply wanted to find the "national parks" in a state and not its battlefields, or national monuments, or projects funded with Land and Water Conservation Funds, you can do that.

This first phase of the project provides details on the following NPS-related programs:

  • Land and Water Conservation Fund
  • American Battlefield Protection Program
  • Rivers, Trails, and Conservation Assistance
  • Save America’s Treasures
  • Preserve America
  • Certified Local Governments
  • Federal Lands to Parks
  • National Register of Historic Places
  • Historic Rehabilitation Tax Incentives.

The bottom line: This is a great resource for doing initial research for a visit.

Comments

Lee,

The folks in Washington -- and more than a few of the field staff -- read the Traveler regularly, so I'm sure they've already seen the response. But I'll drop them a note just the same.

Also, this version is simply the 'beta,' so there will be fixes down the road. As far as having trouble finding parks, if you click on the "list view" in the upper right-hand corner of the state map, you get a drop down list of the parks, historic sites, historic trails, etc, in the state and you can link directly to the unit.


Good morning,

Thank you for the comments about the new www.nps.gov state pages. We agree that it needs to be easier to find national parks, and we are working to resolve that issue. The map revisions will make them clearer and easier to use with a simpler appearance than the topographic map that now appears.

I will admit that even as an NPS employee, I didn’t realize all the work we do to benefit communities, and I’ve really enjoyed using the site to discover places in my hometown that have a relationship with the NPS.

Please stick with us, and I hope you will find that the changes we're making will improve the maps and your experience on the site. If you’d like to read a short article about the state pages, you can do so on the [color=#800080]NPS News Digest[/color].

And, we’re listening and taking your comments to heart, so please continue to share your thoughts.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Mummart
National Park Service
Office of Communications


Kurt and Jennifer,

First, thank you for replying, its nice to know that people are listening.

Kurt, while I agree that that list view is available it provides no value when it comes to planning a road trip.  And I must quibble with your term "beta".  Anything that is the de facto page on NPS.gov is "in production". 

Jennifer, I do appreciate your response.  I do hope that the changes will come soon.  The NPS.gov site is an invaluable resource for planning and preparing to visit the Parks.  If you are looking for volunteers to provide more specific thoughts or to help test, the Traveler has my email address.

Jeff


Thanks for pointing out the "list view."  It works very well.  But perhaps it needs to be made much more noticeable -- and maybe given a better label, like "Click here to view all parks in this state."


Greetings,

As the Certified Local Government Coordinator for NPS, I just wanted to explain what these communities do and why they are on the map!  These 1800+ communities across the country are certified by NPS as our "local partner" in the Federal preservation movement.  They have dedicated preservation commissions that work to protect and promote the historic resources of their town, parish, county, city, borough, etc.  As you are planning your road trip, consider stopping and taking a look at the good preservation work they are doing (and maybe grab some lunch or shop!).
This partnership program with local communities is just one of many NPS programs that the public knows little about.  So we are hopeful, through this continually improving website, that you will still have great access to the Parks, but also to the other wonderful programs and resources that NPS works to protect for the public every day.  Please see http://www.nps.gov/history/hps/clg/index.htm for more information on the CLG program, you might even find out you live in one!

Megan Brown, Certified Local Government Coordinator


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