ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the economic value of National Park Service (NPS) programs that occur largely outside the boundaries of the NPS units. It illustrates that the benefits of the NPS extend far beyond the NPS units into the surrounding communities, many of which are not near NPS units. The chapter focuses on what the NPS calls its cooperative programming and collaborative partnerships throughout the USA. The chapter proposes methods for valuing individual elements of the main categories of NPS programs. It utilizes the NPS Chesapeake Bay Office, which operates entirely through cooperative programming and collaboration, as a case study. NPS matching grants are an important tool that the NPS has. These grants allow NGOs or local governments to leverage what might otherwise be insufficient funding to achieve a particular goal. Calculating the value of cooperative programs is far more challenging than for parks.
