DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CRITERIA-OCTOBER 1970 The NPS development criteria to be utilized for programming projects and planning funds associated therewith are as follows: 1. Facilities needed to protect human life, public health and safety, including water and air pollution abatement, emergency repairs and reconstruction resulting from fire, flood and other catastrophes. 2. Facilities needed to protect park values (pollution abatement other than water and air, erosion, trespass and minimum visitor and operational facilities to protect new areas). 3. Facilities needed to make projects useable for which partial funding has been provided previously. 4. Facilities for which prior commitments have been made, especially those that implement foregoing criteria or those which involve matching private donations. 5. Facilities to effect significant construction and operating economics. These economics must be demonstrable. 6. Facilities to implement special observances, anniversaries, etc., of national significance and programs of national emphasis such as the National Park Service Centennial and the U.S. Bicentennial. 7. New visitor use facilities in geographical locations where major deficiencies in park and recreation facilities exist. 8. Facilities in developed areas which while useable are not complete. 9. Facilities in localities where a comparatively high volume of visitor use will occur per Federal dollar spent. 10. Facilities for areas where entrance or user fee may be charged after full development. 11. Facilities not clearly identifiable in preceding criteria, and those needed facilities which may fall in another of the criteria, but which must be deferred for reason of appropriation ceilings on land and development funds, etc. Mr. RUPPE. My final question. Do you have any particular priority schedule or priority determination as to what areas you start your development and which ones get the initial funding? Mr. HARTZOG. Yes, sir; we do. I have criteria developed under which we buy land, under which we have development programs, and under which we assign operating money, and I will be pleased to put those in the record. Mr. RUPPE. I thank you very much. I have no real objection. I hope I don't sound critical of the Department. I think I face probably what everyone has faced and that is unfortunately a lot of these parks and recreation areas tend to be oversold at the time they were suggested and pushed before the Congress. They were oversold in terms of how fast the development moneys were to be spent; people were convinced that the hordes of tourists would be visible the next year and, of course, there would be a construction boom in the local community. I recognize your problem but I think we have to have enough information publicized so that the public, whether it is in northern Michigan or elsewhere around the country, understands the difficulties you face and has a realistic appraisal of just what you can do for them in the next several years. Mr. HARTZOG. I have that criteria right in front of me if you want a copy of it. Secretary MORTON. I would like to just comment. I think that we are faced together with this very problem and perhaps we should in some way inform the public of the interim problems between the time a set-aside is made or legislation is approved, and the development of that area matures. Maybe there should be a reserve status or some status because this, I think, has got us all uptight and I know that everybody that has a park in his district is under this kind of pressure. Mr. RUPPE. I hope that we all can publicize it. I can assure you I have made great attempts to do that myself to combat a few of the editorial comments I received last year. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM CRITERIA The NPS development criteria to be utilized for programming projects and planning funds associated therewith are as follows: 1. Facilities needed to protect human life, public health and safety, including water and air pollution abatement, emergency repairs and reconstruction resulting from fire, flood, and other catastrophes. 2. Facilities needed to protect park values (pollution abatement other than water and air, erosion, trespass and minimum visitor and operational facilities to protect new areas). 3. Facilities needed to make projects useable for which partial funding has been provided previously. 4. Facilities for which prior commitments have been made, especially those that implement foregoing criteria or those which involve matching private donations. 5. Facilities to effect significant construction and operating economics. These economics must be demonstrable. 6. Facilities to implement special observances, anniversaries, etc., of national significance and programs of national emphasis such as the National Park Service Centennial and the U.S. Bicentennial. 7. New visitor use facilities in geographical locations where major deficiencies in park and recreation facilities exist. 8. Facilities in developed areas which while useable are not complete. 9. Facilities in localities where a comparatively high volume of visitor use will occur per Federal dollar spent. 10. Facilities for areas where entrance or user fee may be charged after full development. 11. Facilities not clearly identifiable in preceding criteria, and those needed facilities which may fall in another of the criteria, but which must be deferred for reason of appropriation ceilings on land and development funds, etc. LAND ACQUISITION CRITERIA The land acquisition program of the National Park Service is formulated on the basis of the following priorities: 1. Land needed for development of facilities. 2. Land needed for preservation and protection of park values. 3. Unimproved land to prevent threatened development of use which would be inconsistent with existing or potential park purposes. 4. Land which the owner needs to dispose of for hardship reasons. 5. Land which the owner, voluntarily, has placed, or intends to place, on the market for sale. The land acquisition program for each area is executed in accordance with the specific legislative policies, if any, set forth in the act authorizing the area. In the absence of specific legislation, the program is executed subject to the following procedures: (a) Purchases should be negotiated on the basis of competent appraisals of fair market value. (b) Less than fee interests, including scenic easements, should be acquired when such interests will meet the needs of the Service and are justified on cost. (c) Reserved use and occupancy by the owner for life or for a term of years should be allowed if purchase on this basis will meet the needs of the Service and are justified on cost. (d) Eminent domain proceedings should be utilized only as a last resort when all reasonable efforts of negotiation have failed. CATEGORIES OF PARK MANAGEMENT, OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE INCREASES 1. Built-in Increases.-Such as full year funding of partially funded positions, funding of positions and programs funded from reserves in the current year, and wage board increases. II. Minimum Support.-Minimum staffing for small areas and professional support personnel. III. Requirements to Meet Prescribed Standards.-Those increases needed to provide for operations at standards. IV. New Facilities.-Funds and staffing needed to operate those new facilities scheduled to be placed into operation before the end of the program year. V. New Programs. Funds and staff necessary to initiate new programs such as new safety programs, new methods of visitor access, etc. VI. Recently Authorizing Areas.-Positions and funds for those areas authorized during the current fiscal year but for which initial funding and staffing are not provided in the current year or the budget year. Mr. TAYLOR. If the gentleman will yield, I would just like to state one purpose of our hearings today is to inform the public what we are up against in regard to this development problem. We know of Director Hartzog's interest in this. We have seen it demonstrated many ways. We know of your interest in it. We have seen it demonstrated in many ways. But we are just going to have to have a goforward program in order to get the job done. The gentleman from Utah? Mr. LLOYD. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Do I understand, Mr. Hartzog, that you will put your development priorities in the record? Mr. HARTZOG. The criteria by which we assign development priorities; yes, sir. Mr. LLOYD. That will be a criteria rather than a list of projects, right? Mr. HARTZOG. Yes, sir; it is, although I have the entire construction program assembled with dollar amounts on each of these criteria. I have it broken down for you between urban parks and nonurban parks, and I have it broken down between new development and replacement of obsolescent facilities. So I can give you all three. Mr. LLOYD. That will be in the record then. (The information follows:) Development requirements criteria analysis |