Preservation Planning in the National Park Service:
The General Management Plan
By Reed Johnson

One of the preservation tools used by the National Park Service is the General Management Plan (GMP). CWPT asked Superintendent Reed Johnson of Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, which is currently preparing its own GMP, to explain what a GMP is and how it is used for preservation.

Quick! Name one item that every unit of the national park system is required by law to have. No, it's not a superintendent. It's a General Management Plan (GMP). As part of the National Parks and Recreation Act of 1978, Congress stipulated that each and every national park area must have an approved GMP. So what exactly is a GMP? As stated in the Director's Order for Planning (DO-2): The purpose of [the GMP] will be to ensure that each park has a clearly defined direction for resource preservation and visitor use. This basic foundation for decision making will be developed in consultation with Servicewide program managers, interested parties, and the general public. It will be based on an adequate analysis of existing and potential resource conditions and visitor experiences, environmental (including natural, cultural, and socioeconomic) impacts, and costs of alternative courses of action.

The Director's Order directs parks preparing a GMP to "focus on why the park was established and what resource conditions and visitor experiences should be achieved and maintained over time." This means that managers need to consider whether the park was established for its natural beauty, to commemorate a battle, in honor of an individual, or for some other reason. Then they need to look at the park's resources (battlefield land, hot springs, historic buildings, etc.) and determine appropriate conditions for the resources (earthworks should not be allowed to erode away, prairie lands should remain open, historic mill traces should run freely, etc.) Park managers also concern themselves with the visitor experience. This means everything from ensuring adequate parking and restrooms to making sure battlefield lands are interpreted so visitors can understand the historic events that occurred at the site.

The GMP takes the long view, planning for many years into the future. Planners not only have to consider the needs of their specific park, but also its place in the region and in the national park system as a whole. GMPs focus on using partnerships to protect park resources and provide visitor services. The Director's Order stipulates that GMPs must include the park's mission, mission goals, and management prescriptions and must address:

• the preservation of the park resources,
• the types and general intensities of development,
• visitor carrying capacities for all areas of the unit, and
• the indications of potential boundary modifications.

GMPs are developed by an interdisciplinary team made up of park managers and technical experts who consult with experts and with the general public.

The cost to complete a GMP can range from approximately $250,000 to well over $1,000,000, depending upon the scope and complexity of the park and/or the resources and issues involved. The funding for GMPs is a part of the annual appropriation set by Congress for the National Park Service and allows for only a few new GMPs to begin each year, with priority given to newly established parks. Since the GMP process usually takes about 2½ years from start to finish, the appropriated funding carries over from one fiscal year to the next. Funding priority for existing parks is determined on a Servicewide basis through an annual call for proposals, whereby a park needing a current GMP submits a description of the major resource management, visitor use, and operational issues the park is facing and how a GMP might help resolve these issues.

Perhaps the most important recent change that has taken place in the GMP process is the degree of public involvement in GMPs' development. A GMP is to be an agreement between the public and the National Park Service that represents a commitment, based upon public consultation, to achieve certain resource conditions and visitor experiences in each area of the park. This makes periodic consultation with the public and the park's various partners essential to developing the GMP. Here at Appomattox Court House, our GMP will provide a "prescription" to remedy a number of resource threats and conditions both internal and external, and to identify the desired future condition of the park and the visitor experience. Since we are committed to public involvement throughout the process, we'll be keeping you posted!

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