Park Management

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK

The National Park Service (NPS), a part of the Department of the Interior, operates the Grand Canyon National Park. The Secretary of the Interior is ultimately responsible for the overall development of regulations impacting National Parks in America, however, Superintendents are appointed over each National Park and they bear direct management authority over their particular national treasure. The current Superintendent over the Grand Canyon National Park is Joseph F. Alston. Other professional organizations have been enlisted as well that generate support for the General Management Plan for the Grand Canyon.

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE (NPS): (928) 638-7888, www.nps.gov.

GRAND CANYON ASSOCIATION (GCA): (800) 858-2808, (928) 638-2481, www.grandcanyon.org. GCA is a nonprofit organization that publishes Grand Canyon related material and stages exhibits related to historic preservation.

GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK FOUNDATION: (928) 774-1760, www.grandcanyonfoundation.org. This nonprofit organization is funded by many supportive individuals, corporations and foundations. It raises money to aid in the preservation of historic facilities and serves to support the protection of wildlife indigenous to the park.

GRAND CANYON TRUST: (929) 774-7488, www.grandcanyontrust.org. This nonprofit organization lobbies on a state and federal level for the preservation of the Colorado Plateau. This includes the conversation of natural resources through national legislation.

In addition to these support organizations, there is an internal management structure within Grand Canyon National Park that consists of Superintendent, Chief Ranger, Park Rangers, Park Naturalists, Park Maintenance etc. Together, there is a concentrated effort to preserve and protect the natural resources of the Grand Canyon so that generations will be able to celebrate its beauty for generations to come.

President Theodore Roosevelt, who established the Grand Canyon as a National Game Reserve in 1906, and as a National Monument in 1908, was an adamant supporter of its value to American society. He once said in 1903, “Leave it as it is. You cannot improve upon it. The ages have been at work on it, and man can only mar it. What you can do is to keep it for your children, your children’s children…as the one great sight which every American … should see.” 

CURRENT MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Current issues facing Park Management include the development of the Colorado River Management Plan, the Resource Management Plan, and Transit and Greenway Planning. Aircraft Overflights has been of primary concern over the last decade as well as the 1995 General Management Plan. For a complete summary of current issues, visit http://www.nps.gov/archive/grca/gmp/.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES

NPS Employment: If you are seeking full-time employment with the National Park Service, please visit the web site for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management that contains a comprehensive job list at www.usajobs.opm.gov.

Seasonal Employment: For temporary or seasonal employment, please visit www.sep.nps.gov.

Park Volunteers: Please visit www.nps.gov/volunteer/

Student Conservation Association: If you are interested in participating in a program geared toward High School students, please visit www.thesca.org/.