Transparency & Accountability in the National Park Service

The National Park Service (NPS) is committed to transparency and accountability. On this page, you can find information about important issues, discover how and why we make decisions, and learn more about the actions we take.

Workplace Harassment Response

NPS Work Environment Survey

The NPS Work Environment Survey was designed to assess workplace conditions that NPS employees experience, including the prevalence and context of all forms of harassment and specifically sexual harassment. The survey results will help the National Park Service take appropriate action to better understand the issue and ensure that all NPS employees and NPS work sites share and uphold the values of respect for others, teamwork, fairness, civility, responsibility, and accountability.

The survey was distributed in two parts:

  • In January 2017, all employees hired before December 10, 2016, received a survey. Almost 50 percent of employees responded. Results of the survey are included below.
  • In July 2017, all employees hired after December 10, 2016, received a survey. We expect results from the summer survey in spring of 2018.

Survey Results & Resources

NPS Voices Report

As a companion follow up to the 2017 Workplace Environment Survey, the NPS hired an outside consultant to lead an “NPS Voices Tour,” which began in 2018. The Voices Tour was designed to hear from employees in their own words, and to complement the statistical data from other reports. It engaged 1,250 employees across the Service through in-person and virtual listening sessions.

Reports from the Office of Inspector General

Issues identified in investigations by the Department of the Interior Office of Inspector General (DOI OIG) warrant serious concern. The National Park Service works hard to address issues raised in DOI OIG reports, and official NPS responses will be provided here.

National Park Service Equal Employment Opportunity Complaints (EEOC) Decisions

In accordance with the Elijah E. Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act of 2020 (the Antidiscrimination Act), Agencies are require to report on disciplinary actions related to findings of discrimination, including retaliation. Agencies are to report on such events via an online posting (within 90 days of such finding) and via a written report to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (within 120 days of such finding).

National Park Service Testimony to Congress

The National Park Service is sometimes asked testify to Congressional committees on a variety of topics related to national parks and the National Park System. Visit the Legislative and Congressional Affairs site to read statements that have been presented to Congress.

Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey

The Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey is a tool that measures employees' perceptions of whether, and to what extent, conditions characterizing successful organizations are present in their agencies.

View the most recent survey results for the Department of the Interior, the parent agency of the National Park Service, and the results for all federal agencies.

Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) Information

The Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act enables the National Park Service and other federal agencies to collect recreation fees and to retain fee revenues at the site collected in order to improve visitors’ experiences across the nation.

All FLREA revenue received from recreation fees remains with the NPS. Fees are used to fund projects to support a safe and enjoyable visitor experience on federal lands.

View fee projects from FY 2020-2023 funded by FLREA

Deaths in National Parks

The NPS mortality data provides a summary of deaths reported by national parks. Death data is collected from several NPS systems of record and media reports. The data are combined and validated to create the NPS mortality dataset. The data help the NPS identify:

  • Leading causes of deaths in parks
  • Activities in parks that resulted in a death
  • Populations that are at greater risk of dying
  • Factors that contribute to deaths like environmental, mechanical, and behavioral factors.

View and download NPS mortality data

Important Links

  • The National Park Service documents its progress toward creating a workplace environment that embraces and celebrates the diversity and multiculturalism of the people it serves in the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Management Directive 715 (MD-715) report (4.67MB PDF). The purpose of MD-715 is to help agencies develop model affirmative EEO programs under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and Section 501 of the Rehabilitation Act and to establish general reporting requirements. The MD-715 Report also includes the Affirmative Action Plan (1.67KB PDF), which shares plans for the recruiting, hiring, advancing, and retaining persons with disabilities and targeted disabilities.
  • Information quality guidelines are intended to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility and integrity of information disseminated by the National Park Service as a federal agency, and to provide administrative mechanisms allowing the public to seek and obtain correction of information maintained and disseminated by the agency.
  • Our customer service standards help the National Park Service better serve the public and provide more pathways for customer feedback.
  • The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) is a law that gives you the right to access information from the federal government.
  • Public involvement in the planning process is essential. Find documents open for public comment and learn about the NPS planning process.

Last updated: May 2, 2025