**Invitation to Comment on DRAFT NPS *Management Policies***

National Park Service Director Fran Mainella welcomes you to participate in reviewing and commenting on the draft 2006 edition of NPS ***Management Policies***. The ***Management Policies***document is an indispensable tool to help NPS employees manage parks responsibly and make rational, well-informed decisions. It is the first level of a three-level directives system that also includes Director's Orders and reference manuals. The review document is organized into chapters and numbered sections for ease in review and commenting. Your comments will be most helpful if they are specific, rather than general.

**Comments can be submitted in the following ways:**1. Via the web page at http://parkplanning.nps.gov/waso. This is the preferred method.2. Via e-mail to waso_policy@nps.gov. Or,3. Via surface mail to Bernard Fagan, National Park Service, Office of Policy-Room 7252, Main Interior Building, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20240. For further information contact: Bernard Fagan at (202) 208-7456, or via e-mail at waso_policy@nps.gov.

**Commenters and comments become part of the public record.** Please note that names and addresses of people who comment become part of the public record. We will make all submissions from organizations, businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as representatives or officials of organizations or businesses available for public inspection in their entirety. If you wish us to withhold your name and/or address, you must state this at the beginning of your comment.

**Summary of the Document**.  The new draft ***Management Policies*** has an Introduction plus 10 chapters, the same as the 2001 edition. The draft Introduction provides an overview of the policy-making function. An important new subsection has been added to the Introduction to explain key terms and concepts that will help NPS employees understand how they are to apply the policies. In particular, the terms and concepts explain the relationship between the words conserve, preserve, and protect; the concept of impairment; the concept of appropriate use of the parks; the concept of unacceptable impacts to park resources and values; and the concept of professional judgment. 

**Chapter 1**-**The Foundation**-lays out basic information about the national park system, the primary laws that govern park management, and the principles that guide NPS field operations. 

**Chapter 2** describes policies applicable to the **Park Planning** process, which helps define the types of resource conditions, visitor experiences, and management actions that will best achieve each park's goals. 

**Chapter 3** sets forth the methods and techniques that will be used for **Land Protection**, including the acquisition of lands (or interests in lands) necessary to conserve each park's resources and values and provide for their enjoyment.

**Chapter 4** explains the Service's **Natural Resource Management**policies, which are intended to conserve in an unimpaired condition not only the resources, but also the natural processes, systems, and values of the parks. 

**Chapter 5** focuses on **Cultural Resource Management**, and explains the policies by which the Service will preserve and foster appreciation of park cultural resources. 

**Chapter 6** sets forth the policies under which the Service will meet its **Wilderness Stewardship** responsibilities. 

**Chapter 7** explains the Interpretation and Education policies that will produce memorable educational and recreational experiences for visitors, and foster the development of a personal stewardship ethic toward national park resources and values.

**Chapter 8** describes the policies by which the Service will provide opportunities for appropriate **Use of the Parks**, with the most important type of use being the enjoyment of unimpaired park resources and values by present and future generations. 

**Chapter 9** describes the policies that govern the development and care of **Park Facilities** that are necessary and appropriate to meet visitor and park management needs, and that are also sustainable and consistent with the conservation of park resources and values. 

**Chapter 10** explains the policies under which **Commercial Visitor Services** that are necessary and appropriate for visitor use and enjoyment will be provided through the use of concession contracts and commercial use authorizations.