Park Planning

 

The National Park Service (NPS) plans for one purpose - to ensure that the decisions it makes will be carried out as effectively and efficiently as possible. The National Park Service prepares a variety of planning and environmental documents to help guide management of park resources. Planning provides methods and tools for resolving issues in ways that minimize conflicts and promotes mutually beneficial solutions - solutions that articulate how public enjoyment of the parks can be part of a strategy for ensuring that resources are protected unimpaired for future generations.

In this section, you will find a variety of Management Plans and other documents pertaining to the planning, management and operation of Guadalupe Mountains National Park. Click on a link below to find out more.

 

Foundation Document

The Foundation Document for Guadalupe Mountains National Park was completed in August 2017. Each unit of the national park system has a foundational document to provide basic guidance for planning and management decisions—a foundation for planning and management. The core components of a foundation document include a brief description of the park as well as the park’s purpose, significance, fundamental resources and values, other important resources and values, and interpretive themes. The foundation document also includes special mandates and administrative commitments, an assessment of planning and data needs that identifies planning issues, planning products to be developed, and the associated studies and data required for park planning.

 

Management Plans

The plans below are available upon request. Contact the park for additional information.

General Management Plan (GMP) - This document identifies and assesses the various management alternatives and related environmental impacts relative to park operations, visitor use and access, natural and cultural resource management, and general development at Guadalupe Mountains National Park. The final GMP will guide park management for the next 15-20 years.

Fire Management Plan (FMP) - This fire plan is an interpretation and application of national direction at the local level for Guadalupe Mountains National Park and is the primary reference for conducting all fire management activities in the park. People consulting this plan must put it in the perspective of the enabling legislation, other related legislation, policies, regulation, and guidelines.

Resource Stewardship Strategy (RSS) - A Resource Stewardship Strategy is a park program plan that includes strategies for managing natural and cultural resources. It is based on science and scholarship and is designed to achieve and maintain desired conditions for resources.

Natural Resource Condition Assessment (NRCA) - The Natural Resource Condition Assessment Program aims to provide documentation about the current conditions of important park natural resources through a spatially explicit, multi-disciplinary synthesis of existing scientific data and knowledge.

Geologic Resources Inventory - Report designed to increase understanding of the geologic processes at work in parks and provide sound geologic information for use in park decision making. It contains information relevant to resource management and scientific research.

Guadalupe Mountains National Park Administrative History - NPS administrative histories look at the history of federal parks and the National Park Service as public programs and as a public trust. They analyze individual parks and their establishment and administration, as well as NPS programs and policies.

 

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Planning, Environment and Public Comment

Each person has an important perspective on the management of Guadalupe Mountains National Park and can make a unique contribution to the planning process that will help the National Park Service produce better planning documents. The National Park Service has developed a web-based tool, the Planning, Environment and Public Comment site (PEPC), for informing the public about projects and plans that are being considered or developed. This system will allow people to gain access to current plans and related documents that are available for review and open for comment. Public comments can be submitted through the PEPC system. The public will also be able to access schedules for particular projects as well as specific information about public meetings. While the PEPC system will become the primary vehicle to submit and review comments on planning efforts and projects, the park will continue to accept comments from the public as it always has, by mail, fax, and e-mail.

 

Documents Open for Public Review

There are currently no projects with documents open for public review for Guadalupe Mountains National Park.

Other Plans and Projects

An archive of completed projects as well as projects without documents open for comment may be found on the PEPC website.