Resource Assessments for Managements Strategies is an ongoing project aimed to identify the best opportunities to preserve the environmentally, culturally and historically significant resources within and across the National Capital Region parks. This assessment strategy is being implemented over two phases:

Phase I is currently underway and focuses primarily on the status and management recommendations of park-specific resources. This portion of the project seeks to produce succinct assessments of natural and cultural resources that can easily be understood and compared between parks and resource types. Using a common assessment framework for all resource types allows intersections of vulnerabilities, management opportunities, and value to be identified.

Phase II aims to synthesize spatial data and information from National Park units and the surrounding landscape in order to understand how and where park resources and regional demands coincide. Park preservation is vital for maintaining the greater network of resources and users that span beyond jurisdictional and political boundaries. Likewise, the changing resource landscape of areas adjacent to NCR parks impose particular threats to and management demands on National Capital Region of NPS. Understanding NPS resources in the larger landscape context can identify important opportunities for management action that are typically overlooked.