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 President Bush lends his help to reduce fire fuels in a pine forest at Rocky Mountain National Park. In 2001 he visited three national parks across the country and announced his support of various programs to enhance their management. John Epperson, Denver Post.  NPS Director Fran Mainella. National Park Service, Washington, D.C. |
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 I am honored to serve as the 16th Director of the National Park Service. I welcome the extraordinary responsibility to care for the special places and resources that tell the story of this great nation’s natural and human history preserved in the National Park System. We have a fundamental challenge to document and understand the natural resources in our care, to come together to prevent their impairment, and to preserve parks for people forever. The Natural Resource Year in Review for 2001 reflects our serious scientific effort and recounts what we have found. As this report reminds us, preserving park natural resources is a complex and incredibly varied endeavor that requires scientific knowledge, technical expertise, teamwork, and commitment. I share in this fundamental challenge. The Year in Review touches on many areas I find critical to the well-being of our national parks. In recent years, the Natural Resource Challenge—which we often call simply the Challenge—has given us great hope and helped us become more effective park caretakers by integrating science systematically into our management strategies. This initiative is focusing our energies on gathering scientific information on the abundance, distribution, and condition of park natural resources—information critical for decision making. It also is creating many other capabilities, described in the Year in Review, that improve our management of park natural resources. The Challenge owes its genesis to the realization over the past decade of the need to emphasize natural resource protection and science in park management. The catchphrases “Parks for Science” and “Science for Parks” have never been more apt than now, and many of the articles in this publication illustrate the contributions of science to park management and parks to the world of science. The connections among parks, science, and society are strengthened by the establishment of learning centers around the National Park System (see the article on page 4). As they become operational, learning centers provide support for basic research in parks and facilitate assimilation of science into park management. They also stimulate public learning about the natural world, our place in it, and the preservation of parks. Another area of critical concern—partnerships—is reflected throughout this report. The potential for useful scientific inquiry is virtually limitless. Almost every article in the Year in Review describes some role of partnerships in our scientific successes. It is essential that we nurture the support of academic, not-for-profit, other agency, and even industrial research that can advance our knowledge and analysis of the resources entrusted to us. We need professional park staffs to provide information to managers, but the enduring relationships with partners who can supplement our capabilities with technical know-how and complementary skills dramatically extend the value and impact of what our staffs can accomplish. I am encouraged by the extent to which we have fruitful, productive partnerships and support their continued growth. We are indeed very fortunate to have the support and enthusiasm of the Bush Administration and Congress for the national parks. President Bush enjoys the national parks and appreciates their importance for personal growth and reflection. He wants to see them preserved and acknowledges that science is an important tool in this. In June 2001 he nominated me as NPS Director from Everglades National Park, where the federal government and the State of Florida have begun the world’s largest, most comprehensive ecological restoration effort (see the article on page 49). In a late-summer visit to Rocky Mountain National Park, he took time to help build a trail and lend his support to the fire management program. In the fall he described his sense of awe amid the big trees of Sequoia National Park in a speech that announced funding for the maintenance backlog of facilities throughout the National Park System. His budget for FY 2002 incorporated several provisions for bolstering natural resource management, including $20 million in new base funding for the Natural Resource Challenge. Interior Secretary Norton is also a strong park advocate. She was a driving force behind designating November 10–12 as the “National Weekend of Unity and Hope and Healing,” which recognized the parks’ symbolic and practical importance to a nation seeking renewal after September 11. The Natural Resource Year in Review illustrates well that we have a solid foundation of professional staff, talented partners, and a devoted public sharing in the stewardship of our national parks. It exemplifies the pride, teamwork, and excellence necessary for continued effectiveness in preserving park natural resources. Fran Mainella
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This material is from Natural Resource Year in Review--2001, published by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, in May 2001 (publication D-2255) /YearInReview/yir/yir2001/001_front_matter/02_foreword.html Last Updated: |
