LAUSR

ABSTRACT Following its 2013 Green Park Plan, the US National Park Service (NPS) has sought to achieve more sustainable operations at park level. However, a history of top-down governance, research aversion, contentious community relationships, and a move towards neoliberal governance has created numerous challenges to operationalising the sustainability agenda. Using comparative case study methodology, this paper approaches sustainability through a five-pillar framework that incorporates the economy, environment, society, good governance and sound science. Data from three very different parks, and from the newly formed Division of Climate Change and Sustainability at Park Headquarters, is presented. Using the National Mall in Washington, DC, Shenandoah in Virginia, and Big Bend in Texas, the paper highlights many successful sustainability initiatives. A number of serious problems remain, however, including lack of funding, the slow working budget cycle, the need for inter-park knowledge sharing, the need for behavioural change at both national and local management levels, issues surrounding the “whiteness” of the visitor mix, and the nature of park visitation, where driving remains the primary transportation mode. Overall, neo-liberalism is placing increased emphasis on concessionaires to encourage sustainable operations, distancing NPS from its core visitor base and encouraging rising visitation levels with their associated impacts.