Social Science

Overview

The role and functions of the Social Science Program are to:

• provide leadership and direction to the social science activities of the NPS,
• coordinate social science activities with other programs of the NPS,
• act as liaison with the USGS Biological Resources Division and other federal agencies on social science activities,
• provide technical support to parks, park clusters, support offices and regional offices, and
• support a program of applied social science research related to national research needs of the NPS.
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Visitor Survey at Zion National Park

Critical Questions for NPS Social Science

• Who visits national parks? When do they come; where do they come from, and what do they look for? Who doesn't visit, and why?
  
  
• How do these visitors affect national park resources? How does park management affect the visitor experience?
  
  
• How do national parks relate to their surrounding communities? How do they affect local, regional, and national economies?
  
  
• How can threats to national parks be minimized or reduced?
  
  
• How effective are NPS educational efforts--such as museum exhibits, guided hikes, and ranger-led talks--and how they can be improved?
  
  
• How can the parks' natural and cultural resources be managed more effectively?

For more information

DID YOU KNOW?

To protect plant and animal species, park managers need basic scientific information about their habitats, ranges, life cycles, and more. To protect the parks themselves, however, managers need to understand people--the U.S. citizens and international travelers who establish, visit, support, cherish, use, and (sometimes) abuse America's national parks and park resources.
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