A call to action: Preparing for a second century of stewardship and engagement

National Park Service

A call to all National Park Service employees and partners to commit to actions that advance the Service toward a shared vision for 2016 and our second century. In its first century, the National Park Service focused on stewardship and enjoyment of special places, reflecting the core mission articulated in the NPS Organic Act. The result is a National Park System that encompasses America’s exceptional places, including those where civic engagements—often confrontational and sometimes violent—have shaped who we are as a people: Selma to Montgomery, Brown v. Board of Education, Manzanar, the Statue of Liberty, and Flight 93, to name a few. In these national parks we learn not only of people who left their marks on the present, but how individuals can offer the next generation a better future. From the solemn battlefields of Yorktown and Gettysburg to the silent waters that embrace the USS Arizona, national parks also include places where we learn about honor, bravery, patriotism, and sacrifice. In the cathedral forests of Redwood, in the call of the Denali wilderness, and in the quiet of Grand Canyon, we are reminded of the wonder of nature, of the breadth of park resources, and of our stewardship responsibilities. America has changed dramatically since the birth of the National Park Service in 1916. The roots of the National Park Service lie in the parks’ majestic, often isolated natural wonders and in places that exemplify our cultural heritage, but their reach now extends to places difficult to imagine 100 years ago—into urban centers, across rural landscapes, deep within oceans, and across night skies. In our second century, the National Park Service must recommit to the exemplary stewardship and public enjoyment of these places. We must promote the contributions that national parks and programs make to create jobs, strengthen local economies, and support ecosystem services. We must use the collective power of the parks, our historic preservation programs, and community assistance programs to expand our contributions to society in the next century.

A call to action: Preparing for a second century of stewardship and engagement

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