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Updated December 3, 2019
National Park Service Affiliated Areas: An Overview
In addition to managing the 419 units of the National Park
arrangement. “Many of these arrangements defy simple
System, the National Park Service (NPS) manages or assists
formulas for defining what we administer,” the memo
other areas that are linked in importance and purpose to the
stated. A 1990 NPS report to Congress—delivered in
larger system. These related areas may be recognized by
compliance with P.L. 100-336—reaffirmed this finding,
Congress and may receive assistance from NPS but are
stating that, “Areas have been classified as affiliated
typically owned and administered primarily by nonfederal
because they did not fit the definition of a park system unit
entities. Among these related areas are 25 sites that NPS
rather than because they did meet some clearly defined
has classified under the title of affiliated areas. NPS defines
criteria.” In response, the report recommended that
affiliated areas as locations that “preserve significant
Congress recognize the affiliated area category and endorse
properties outside the National Park System ... [and that]
the criteria proposed by NPS for affiliated area status.
draw on technical or financial aid from the National Park
Service” (National Parks: Index 2012-2016, p. 118).
Designation Criteria
The criteria recommended in the 1990 NPS report are
History of Affiliated Status
largely reflected in the NPS Management Policies 2006
The standard by which NPS defines and categorizes
(Section 1.3.4), which establishes eligibility guidelines for
“affiliated areas” has evolved and changed over the years.
affiliated area status. To be eligible, proposed areas must
At times, Congress has attempted to clarify which areas fall
within this status. In 1970, Congress passed legislation that
Meet the same standards for significance and suitability
defined units of the National Park System as “any area of
that apply to units of the National Park System;
land and water now or hereafter administered by the
Secretary of the Interior through the National Park Service
Require some special recognition or technical assistance
for park, monument, historic, parkway, recreational or other
beyond what is available through existing NPS
purposes” (P.L. 91-383). The 1970 law specifically
programs;
excludes from this definition “miscellaneous areas
administered in connection therewith,” that is, properties
Be managed in accordance with the policies and
and sites that are neither federally owned nor directly
standards that apply to units of the system; and
administered by the NPS but that receive some federal
assistance. In 1975, NPS issued the National Parks: Index
Be assured of sustained resource protection, as
(an occasional publication from NPS that serves as the
documented in a formal agreement between the service
official list of National Park System areas), in which the
and the nonfederal management entity.
agency classified nine units for the first time under the new
title of affiliated areas.
Designation Process and Authority
The 25 existing affiliated areas were primarily established
Despite this new definition, affiliated status continued to
legislatively, although some were established through
shift in the years following 1970. At times, the status
administrative action by the Secretary of the Interior under
included designations such as national heritage areas, rivers
the authority of the Historic Sites Act of 1935 (54 U.S.C.
in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, and trails in
§§320101 et seq.). Under the act, as amended, an
the National Trails System, while at other points NPS
administratively designated site may not receive federal
excluded these areas from the affiliated categorization. In
funding unless Congress specifically appropriates funding
1988, Congress passed legislation directing NPS to define
for that site.
the “criteria for the elements of national significance and
other factors necessary for a proposed area to be considered
Although many of the sites were established in statute, in
appropriate for inclusion as an affiliated area” (P.L. 100-
most cases the establishing laws did not identify them or
336). Later that year, NPS issued proposed regulations that
title them as affiliated areas. Instead, the sites were
included a revised definition and set criteria for affiliated
designated with varying titles; they include 9 national
area designation (53 Federal Register 32115). While these
historic sites and 4 national memorials, as well as 12 sites
regulations were not finalized, they are reflected in the
with other, often unique, titles.
current standards for inclusion outlined in NPS’s
Management Policies 2006 (see “Designation Criteria”).
The oldest existing affiliated area is the Jamestown
National Historic Site. The site was designated on
In 1989, NPS issued a memorandum entitled “Classification
December 18, 1940, by administrative action in which the
of NPS Units and Related Areas” that outlined some
Secretary of the Interior called for “a unified program of
difficulties in classifying areas where NPS does not directly
development and administration” between NPS and the
administer the area but has some special cooperative
Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities
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(APVA). The APVA continues to own and operate this site.
warrant further study through a full special resource study.
The most recent site established as an affiliated area is the
Recently, some Members have requested that NPS conduct
Parker’s Crossroads Battlefield in 2019, which Congress
certain reconnaissance surveys with the specific intention of
designated in the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation,
determining whether a given site would be appropriate for
Management, and Recreation Act (P.L. 116-9).
affiliated status.
Table 1. Examples of NPS Affiliated Areas
Some sites previously designated or categorized as an
affiliated area have been removed from this classification.
Name
Citation
State
Sometimes, this removal was the result of a shift in how
Benjamin Franklin
P.L. 92-551, 86 Stat. 1164,
NPS defines and lists affiliated areas, as was the case with
PA
National Memorial
October 25, 1972
several national heritage areas and early units of the
National Trails System. Other times, sites previously
International Peace
Various
categorized as affiliated areas were redesignated as full
a
NDb
Garden
units of the National Park System. For example, in 2009,
Natural Bridge State
Sec. Decision Memo of
Congress redesignated Port Chicago Naval Magazine
VA
Park
August 29, 2016
National Memorial as a unit of the National Park System
(P.L. 111-84). More recently, in 2016, President Obama
Ice Age National
P.L. 88-655, 78 Stat. 1087,
proclaimed the Belmont-Paul Women’s Equality National
WI
Scientific Reserve
October 13, 1964
Monument as a unit of the System (81 Federal Register
22503), more than 40 years after Congress had designated
Inupiat Heritage
P.L. 104-333, 110 Stat.
AK
the site as a national historic site (P.L. 93-487).
Center
4162, November 12, 1996c
Source: CRS. For a nearly complete list of NPS affiliated areas as of
The only site previously designated as a unit of the National
2016, see The National Parks: Index 2012-2016. Since publication of
Park System to be redesignated as an affiliated area is the
the Index, two additional affiliated areas have been established
Oklahoma City National Memorial. Congress initially
(Parker’s Crossroads Battlefield and Natural Bridge State Park).
authorized the site as a full unit of the park system (albeit
a. International Peace Garden is recognized as a National Park
one administered in partnership with a private entity) in
System affiliated area by virtue of federal funding authorized in
1997 (P.L. 105-58). Congress redesignated the site as an
the Acts of October 25, 1949; June 28, 1954; August 28, 1958;
affiliated area in 2004 (P.L. 108-199).
and October 26, 1974. Although the site was not officially
designated as an affiliated area in legislation, NPS has categorized
Administration, Funding, and Ownership
it as such since the first listing of affiliated areas in 1975.
NPS is generally less involved in the funding and
b. Portions of the International Peace Garden site are located in
management of affiliated areas than of park system units.
the Canadian province of Manitoba.
Typically, NPS directly administers units of the park
c. The enabling legislation for the New Bedford Whaling National
system, whereas it provides technical and financial
Historical Park (P.L. 104-333) also established the Inupiat
assistance to related areas, which are administered primarily
Heritage Center (previously known as North Slope Borough
by nonfederal entities. The degree to which NPS has a role
Cultural Center) as a “related facility” of the site. NPS
in the management or administration of an affiliated area
subsequently categorized the site on its own as an affiliated area.
typically is defined in the enabling legislation for the site or
through the development of a general management plan.
At times, Congress may designate affiliated areas following
the completion of a special resource study by NPS.
Federal funding for affiliated areas varies on a site-by-site
Typically, this may occur when Congress directs NPS to
basis. Congress has authorized federal funding for some
conduct a study to determine whether a given site is an
affiliated areas in enabling legislation or through the annual
appropriate candidate for inclusion as a unit of the National
appropriations process. Other sites receive no federal
Park System. According to P.L. 105-391, a special resource
funding but receive technical assistance from NPS.
study will determine whether an area under study (1)
possesses nationally significant natural or cultural resources
The majority of affiliated areas are nonfederally owned.
and (2) is a suitable and feasible addition to the system. If
However, NPS does own portions of several listed areas,
the study determines that a site meets the criteria for
including more than 90,000 acres of the Pinelands National
national significance but is not suitable or feasible for NPS
Reserve, the largest affiliated area by size.
management as a unit of the park system, NPS may
Legislation in the 116th Congress
recommend the site for affiliated status. Recent legislation
would direct NPS to conduct special resource studies
In the 116th Congress, P.L. 116-9 established Parker’s
specifically aimed at determining the feasibility of a site for
Crossroads Battlefield as an affiliated area, designating the
affiliated status (see “Legislation”).
City of Parker’s Crossroads and the Tennessee Historical
Commission as joint management entities for the site. H.R.
Affiliated site designation also may arise from less formal,
486 would direct the Secretary to conduct a special resource
preliminary studies conducted by NPS at the request of
study to evaluate designating Chicano Park and its murals
Members of Congress. Similar to special resource studies,
in San Diego, CA, as an affiliated area.
these reconnaissance surveys typically are used to
determine whether a given site would meet the criteria for
Mark K. DeSantis, Analyst in Natural Resources Policy
addition to the National Park System and, if so, would
IF11281
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National Park Service Affiliated Areas: An Overview
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