The National Park Service (NPS) has released the third edition of its Green Parks Plan, which is a set of goals and objectives focused on advancing park operations in a sustainable manner.
According to a release on April 21, the announcement of the third edition was meant to align with Earth Day. The first edition of the plan was done in 2012 and it is updated to meet the needs and focuses that continually advance and progress. The release says the most recent update incorporates science and technology advancements that have been made, and legislation and executive orders that have been put into place.
“Since its inception in 1916, the NPS has been a global leader in protecting our heritage and our planet,” said U.S. National Park Service Director Chuck Sams. “Today, the NPS is renewing its operational sustainability goals with a bold vision to attain net-zero status in America’s parks. As we work towards our net-zero vision, we also strive to enhance and demonstrate the critical role parks play in mental, physical, and spiritual health.”
The plan includes the focus on the national parks getting to a net-zero status through a variety of ways such as conserving energy and water, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing solid waste, moving to green transportation at the parks and promoting sustainability both in and out of the confines of the parks. This is also part of the commitment to stop using single-use plastics in parks around the country over the next 10 years. This is part of Executive Order 14057 and the direction of the Secretary of the Interior’s Order 3407.
The updated Green Parks Plan is a response to Interior Secretary Deb Haaland's order 3407, according to the Department of the Interior website. Issued in June 2022, the Secretary's Order gave the various Departments and Bureaus under the Interior umbrella 270 days to submit draft sustainable procurement plans that include the following and more:
“(1) Include schedules and targets to make annual progress toward reducing the procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products from current levels with a goal of phasing out single-use plastic products by 2032;
(2) Include schedules for updates to their acquisition and procurement policies and practices to reduce single-use plastic products;
(3) Include annual reporting on progress toward reducing procurement, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic products;
(4) Include a schedule for reporting on how they will phase out single-use plastic
products by 2032;
(5) Include an analysis of alternatives to single-use plastic products, such as compostable or biodegradable materials, or 100 percent recyclable or 100 percent recycled materials (with a circular economy plan) as defined in section 2 of the Save Our Seas
2.0 Act (Public Law 116-224);
(6) Identify opportunities to shift public behavior to reduce single-use plastic products, such as installing additional water fountains and reusable water bottle filling stations;”
The most recent revised plan includes five goals: be climate-friendly and climate ready, which involves combating the climate crisis through achieving the net-zero greenhouse gas emission status; be energy smart and water-wise, through net-zero water and energy use; buy green and reduce, reuse, recycle- through achieving net-zero waste and sustainable procurement; green our rides, which is by using zero-emission transportation; and foster a sustainability ethic, which is done by engaging the workforce, visitors, stakeholders and more to participate in climate responsible initiatives.
Information on sustainability in the National Parks is available at this website: https://www.nps.gov/subjects/sustainability/index.htm.
