Natural Resource Stewardship
Park History
NPSHistory.comThe National Park Service's natural resource stewardship mission dates to the agency's founding in 1916, when the Organic Act charged the NPS with conserving "the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein" for the enjoyment of future generations. The NPS Natural Resource Stewardship and Science Directorate oversees programs in biological resources, geologic resources, water resources, air quality, climate change science, and inventory and monitoring across more than 400 park units. These scientific programs produce peer-reviewed research that informs park management decisions and contributes to the broader scientific understanding of ecosystem health, biodiversity, and environmental change across the nation's most protected landscapes.
REPLACE / REMOVE: Publications (1 items)
Natural Resource Stewardship in MA is one of hundreds of National Park Service sites where interpretive content has been flagged under Secretary's Order 3431. This directive requires parks to review materials that could be considered negative about past or living Americans — a standard that threatens the factual historical record these sites were created to preserve.
The administration has directed that this content be replaced or removed, not merely revised but eliminated from the visitor experience at Natural Resource Stewardship.
Why this matters: The changes documented at Natural Resource Stewardship are visible to any visitor. Removing scientific information from interpretive materials doesn't change what people can see with their own eyes — it only removes the explanation.
Night Skies Jr Ranger Booklet
p6 graphic and text alluding to man-made light pollution
Photographs attached to this park's records in the leaked NPS review database.
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