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.

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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

• Technical Report: National Park Service (NPS) Work Environment Survey, January–March 2017 (3.8MB PDF) - The Technical Report provides key findings and conclusions of the survey, as well as detailed descriptions of the methodology.
• Supplemental Statistical Report: National Park Service (NPS) Work Environment Survey, January–March 2017 (10.3MB PDF) - The Supplemental Statistical Report presents in tabular form the results of the survey and is designed to be a companion to the Technical Report. This supplement documents all findings for reference.
• DOI News Release: Secretary Zinke Outlines Action Plan to Combat Harassment and Discrimination
• Director's Order #16E: National Park Service Anti-Harassment Policy

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.

• NPS Voices Tour 2018 Summary Report (4.10 MB PDF) and Storybook (1.066 MB PDF)

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 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. A website at FLREA (sciencebase.gov) presents information on the Interagency Recreation Fee Program, including program goals and accomplishments, revenues and expenditures from 2008 through the latest reporting period. Copies of current and prior published FLREA Reports are available for download from the website.

The NPS began implementing a new point-of-sale system for pass sales in 2019 called the Recreation Business Management System (RBMS). Data extracts summarizing total pass sales are available for all participating parks for prior calendar years (CY2019, CY2020, CY2021) and the calendar year-to-date (CY2022 YTD). The attached metadata describes the contents of the data files.

Important Links

• Relevancy, diversity, and inclusion define both a value and a practice for connecting the American public to the nation's shared natural and cultural heritage.
  • 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 (572KB 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 (3.25MB 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.