American Network of Parks and Open Space – Revisited

The following is the Executive Summary of a 20 year old NPS assessment of the State Grants and UPARR program.  It lists recommendations, not implemented, which are as relevant today as it was in 1994.  These are the issues the Stateside Coalition is currently working on.. Provided for your information and consideration.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

BACKGROUND: In January, 1994, Roger Kennedy, the Director of the National Park Service, asked the National Park System Advisory Board to convene a committee to review the state and local portion of the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF), and other similar assistance programs, such as the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program(UP ARR). The Advisory Board formed an eighteen member Review Committee comprised of knowledgeable individuals from around the country. The committee’s charge was to, “Advise the Director and the Secretary on the current status of state and local assistance programs and make recommendations on how the programs could be improved, both under existing legislation and under new legislation.”  The committee met numerous times between January- July 1994. This document is the Review Committee’s report to the Advisory Board.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

After extensive deliberations, the Review Committee reached strong consensus on the following recommendations:• The LWCF and UPARR programs should be combined into a single new program.

• A new institution within the federal government, but outside of the Department of Interior, should be created to manage the new program.

• An annual federal appropriation of $1 billion dollars will be required to meet the recreation and conservation needs of our citizens.

• The new program should actively involve citizens in establishing funding priorities and planning for the development of an American Network of Parks and Open Space.

Here is the full report.  American Network of Parks and Open Space Report