Built to Last? An Exploratory Analysis of Facility Investment Planning and its Impacts on Financial and Operational Sustainability in the National Park Service

This research, conducted with the National Park Service’s (NPS) Park Planning and Special Studies division, explores how long-term facility planning affects the operational and financial sustainability of national parks. Amid rising visitation, climate challenges, and shrinking budgets and staff, the study reassesses Unit Management Planning (UMP)—NPS’s primary tool for long-range park planning. Using a mix of methods—including plan reviews, park leader surveys and interviews, environmental compliance analysis, and project implementation tracking—the research followed the full lifecycle of proposed major facility projects, from planning through to implementation. Findings show that while newer, more flexible planning approaches have lowered costs and development time, most plans still propose infrastructure expansions that parks may not be able to sustain. Park leaders expressed concern that proposed projects often outpace available resources, risking long-term feasibility. Environmental compliance analysis further indicated that including proposed facility projects in long-term plans does little to reduce the burden of subsequent NEPA requirements. Additionally, most proposed major facility projects in UMP plans were never completed, and many built projects had not been proposed in a UMP plan—highlighting a disconnect between planning and real-world investment. The report recommends aligning facility planning more closely with operational capacity, improving transparency around project funding decisions, and adopting a standardized monitoring and evaluation framework to track plan use and outcomes over time. In sum, this research provides evidence to underscore the need for a more adaptive, grounded approach to NPS facility investment planning—one that supports park leaders in making informed, implementable decisions and ensures that national parks remain resilient and sustainable long into the future.