National Park Service Visual Resource Inventories
Taylor K . National Park Service Visual Resource Inventories. 2014. National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) Visual Resource Inventory project uses standardized, repeatable methods to document, evaluate, and manage scenic views across park landscapes. The inventory is designed to capture views as they are experienced by visitors, describing and analyzing views through field-based observations, photography, geospatial data, and structured evaluation criteria. Visual Resource Inventories document both the scenic quality of views (their aesthetic characteristics) and their view importance, giving equal consideration to each. By combining visual descriptions, ratings, and mapped viewpoints, the inventory provides a consistent framework for understanding visual character, monitoring change over time, and identifying views that warrant protection or management attention. The NPS visual resource inventory system was developed to support the NPS mission to preserve and protect scenic views for future generations while providing actionable information for park planning, resource condition assessments, and long-term visual resource stewardship.
- Type
- Project
- Authors
- Taylor, Ksienya
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Viewscape | Viewscape/Dark Night Sky
Products
- Visual Resources Inventory Training Manual
- Enjoy the View — visual resources inventory report: Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
- Enjoy the view — visual resources inventory report: Monocacy National Battlefield
- Enjoy the view —visual resources inventory report: Redwood National and State Parks
- Enjoy the View—visual resources inventory report: Chaco Culture National Historical Park
- Enjoy the View—visual resources inventory report: Mojave National Preserve
- Enjoy the view—visual resources inventory report: Petrified Forest National Park
- George Washington Memorial Parkway - North, Visual Resource Inventory & Assessment: Spout Run to the Capital Beltway, George Washington Memorial Parkway, National Park Service
- How do we Rate? Taking a Look at Data from the National Park Service Visual Resources Inventory
- Kobuk Wild and Scenic River Visual Resource Inventory Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve
- Photo log data from the NPS Enjoy the View program, February 2026
- Geospatial data of viewsheds inventoried as a part of the NPS Enjoy the View program, February 2026
- Visual Resource Inventory data from the NPS Enjoy the View program, February 2026