About Natural Resources

The Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate (NRSS) develops, disseminates, and utilizes the tools of natural and social science to enable the National Park Service to fulfill its core mission: the protection of park resources and values. The directorate provides leadership, expertise, and scientific support such that the natural resources of the National Park System are unimpaired for future generations.

—DOI Departmental Manual, Chapter 6

With most of its staff located in Fort Collins and Lakewood, Colorado, and Washington, D.C., the NRSS provides scientific and technical support to national parks for the management of natural resources. The directorate oversees the following programs:

• Air Resources
• Biological Resource Management
• Climate Change Response
• Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Units
• Environmental Quality
• Geologic Resources
• Inventory & Monitoring
• National Natural Landmarks
• Natural Sounds & Night Skies
• Research Learning Centers
• Social Science
• Water Resources

Three additional offices offer support and expertise to the directorate:

• Budget and Finance
• Education and Outreach
• Natural Resource Information Systems

Services

To help parks and partners in natural resource management, the NRSS:

• Coordinates resource inventory and monitoring activities
• Implements technical resource management solutions
• Funds resource management projects
• Acts as a national clearinghouse for resource management information
• Facilitates resource management partnerships and training
• Synthesizes and disseminates resource management policy, regulations, and permitting
• Supports resource management planning, research, and policy development
• Informs internal and external audiences about natural resource management programs, activities, and accomplishments

More Information

For more information about the NRSS, please browse this website or contact us.