Management Documents

 

Foundation Document

A foundation document provides basic guidance for planning and management decisions. 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.

Foundation Document [PDF 21 MB]

 

General Management Plan

A General Management Plan is required by law for every area administered by the National Park Service. The purpose of the plan is to ensure that each NPS area has a defined direction for resource preservation and visitor use. The General Management Plan focuses on why the area was established and what resource conditions and visitor experiences should be achieved and maintained over time. General management plans consider an area’s mission, or purpose, and provide management prescriptions, which include desired resource conditions and visitor experiences for all the different portions of an NPS administered area.

General Managment Plan [PDF 5.67 MB]

 

Superintendent's Compendium

In the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), superintendents of each unit in the National Park System have the option to develop specific designations, closures, permit requirements, and other restrictions to address unique management needs in their park unit. Within the CFR, superintendents are given the authority to amend, modify, relax, or make more stringent certain regulations. These park-specific regulations are incorporated into a document called the Superintendent's Compendium and are an extension of the CFR. These publications help direct the park's management efforts to best serve the mission of the National Park Service and the needs of visitors.

 

Administrative History

NPS administrative histories look at the history of federal parks and the NPS as public programs and as a public trust. They analyze individual parks and their establishment and administration, as well as NPS programs and policies. Published in 1999, the Administrative History of Padre Island National Seashore reviews early island history, the movement to protect the island as a national park, the legislative history, and the early development of the newly formed national seashore.

 

Program Reviews

The National Park Service conducts internal program reviews of parks as a whole and of individual park programs on a rotating basis. These reviews are intended to be internal documents to help program and park managers ensure that:

• Programs achieve their intended results.

• Resources are used consistent with agency mission.

• Resources are protected from waste, fraud, and mismanagement.

• Laws and regulations are followed.

• Reliable and timely information is maintained, reported, and used for decision-making.

Sea Turtle Science & Recovery Program Review

In 2020, the NPS conducted a review of the Sea Turtle Science & Recovery program in the park. This was the first review of the program in its more then 40-year history. Due to numerous public requests, NPS management has released this internal document to the public. View the program review and see frequently asked questions.

Sea Turtle Science & Recovery Program Update

View a March 2024 update about the Sea Turtle Science & Recovery Program.

 

Other Plans and Projects

An archive of completed projects as well as current park projects that may have documents open for comment may be found on the Planning, Environment & Public Comment (PEPC) website.

Learn more about project planning in the park.