Created in 1916, it stewards sites from Yellowstone to small historic homes and hosts over 300 million visits a year. It also runs the National Register of Historic Places.
Open the interactive page for NPS →Created byNational Park Service Organic Act, Aug. 25, 1916 (ch. 408, 39 Stat. 535); recodified into positive-law Title 54 by P.L. 113-287 (2014)
Head appointed54 U.S.C. § 100302(a): Director appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate; must have "substantial experience and demonstrated competence in land management and natural or cultural resource conservation" (qualification added by P.L. 104-333, 1996); no fixed term (PAS)
Removal standardno statutory protection — at will
Funded underAnnual Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act; plus retained recreation fees under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. §§ 6801-6814), the Land and Water Conservation Fund (54 U.S.C. §§ 200302-200303, permanent funding via P.L. 116-152), and the GAOA National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (54 U.S.C. § 200402)
Congressional oversightHouse Natural Resources · Senate Energy and Natural Resources
Inspector generalDepartment of the Interior OIG (PAS establishment IG under the Inspector General Act, 5 U.S.C. ch. 4)
Judicial reviewAPA § 702 suits in district court (NEPA, Organic Act non-impairment, concessions and management-plan challenges); no special direct-review statute
Comment during the public-comment periods that park management plans require; ask your members of Congress, who set park budgets and create new parks.