NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

II. METHODOLOGY

• The National Park Service's (NPS's) anti-drug program represents a small portion of its law enforcement activities, composing less than one percent of the agency's budget. NPS drug cases involve the use, possession, sale, distribution, smuggling, manufacture, and cultivation of various controlled substances in park areas.



• The National Park Service develops its drug control budget based on tracking of actual FTE usage in the field, a review of prior year expenditures as tracked by Program Work Element (PWE) and a projection of costs associated with support needed for FTE usage.

III. PROGRAM SUMMARY

• The National Park System manages its drug control programs at the park level, augmented by the U.S. Park Police in major urban areas. The work done at the park level and by the U.S. Park Police reaches across all strategic goals.
  
  
• The National Park System contains 374 diverse and unique areas, including parks, monuments, historic sites, trails, and recreational areas. NPS administers more than 80 million acres in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. NPS programs are oriented toward the fundamental mission of natural and cultural resource protection and interpretation while also promoting outdoor recreation, historic preservation, and environmental awareness. NPS works closely with states, local governments, and community groups to accomplish these goals.



• Many park areas are located in or near known drug smuggling or trafficking routes. Cases involving the use/possession, sale/distribution, smuggling, manufacturing, and cultivation of controlled substances occur routinely in park areas. Roughly 365 miles of the 1,700 miles of this country's border with Mexico are in units of the National Park System and significant percentages of the coastlines of a number of states in which smuggling occurs also lie within park areas (22 percent of the coast of Florida, 31 percent of Georgia, 42 percent of North Carolina, 50 percent of Maryland, 35 percent of Virginia, and 20 percent of California).

• NPS provides opportunities for drug awareness education in elementary schools located within or adjacent to units of the National Park System.

• The U.S. Park Police consists of uniformed and nonuniformed police officers who perform the same level of work and diverse duties as any urban police department. The primary presence of the U.S. Park Police is in the District of Columbia; however, officers are also routinely assigned to Maryland and Virginia, to the New York Field Office, to the San Francisco Field Office, and to several other areas of the country.



• NPS works cooperatively with other Federal, State, and local agencies in mutual drug enforcement operations in areas contiguous to park boundaries.

• The NPS law enforcement program also includes outreach efforts aimed at promoting drug prevention within its Park System.

• The National Park Service supports the Federal drug control priorities through enforcement efforts along the border where smuggling occurs.

• The National Park Service supports the Federal drug control priorities by reducing domestic drug production and availability through drug investigation efforts and a marijuana eradication program.

1997 Base Program

• The FY 1997 base program includes $0.141 million which supports Goal 1 of the National Drug Control Strategy to increase public education for the purpose of increasing public awareness of the consequences of illicit drug use and the use of alcohol and tobacco by underage populations.



• The FY 1997 base program includes $0.683 million which supports Goal 2 of the National Drug Control Strategy. This includes $0.653 million to increase support for Task Force operations that target all levels of drug trafficking and drug crime, and to improve the efficiency of Federal drug law enforcement investigative and intelligence programs.



• The FY 1997 base program includes $0.316 million which supports Goal 3 of the National Drug Control Strategy to expand and enhance drug education and prevention strategies in the workplace.



• The FY 1997 base program includes $1.735 million for interdiction, which supports Goal 4 of the National Drug Control Strategy. This includes $0.689 million to identify and implement options to improve the effectiveness of law enforcement to stop the flow of drugs into the United States, especially along the Southwest border, and $1.046 million to conduct flexible interdiction in the transit zone.



• The FY 1997 base program includes $5.782 million which supports Goal 5 of the National Drug Control Strategy. This includes $5.553 million to reduce domestic drug production and availability, including the illegal diversion of prescription drugs, and $0.229 million to continue to target for prosecution of those who illegal divert pharmaceuticals and listed chemicals.

• The total FY 1998 drug control budget request is $9.0 million, an increase of $0.343 million over the FY 1997 enacted level. Approximately one third of the increase is to cover inflation costs. The balance of the increase will enhance efforts in investigations and prosecutions to immobilize illegal drug trafficking organizations.

V. PROGRAM STATISTICS

	1996 Estimate	1997 Estimate	1998 Projected
- Marijuana Plants Destroyed	100,000	100,000	100,000
- Drug-Related Arrests	2,500	2,500	2,500

VI. PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS

• NPS Park Rangers have been successful in the interdiction of cocaine and marijuana on the Southwest border, with seizures of 90 to 100 pounds of cocaine and of numerous vehicles and weapons.



• The cash value of seized property for 1996 is $45,535. During 1996 the Service reported the eradication of 30,511 marijuana plants. NPS Park Rangers and investigators arrested approximately 2,505 persons and confiscated 12 vehicles and 50 weapons during this period. The estimated value of drugs destroyed is $100,000,000.



• During 1996, the U.S. Park Police arrested more than 1,300 persons for drug violations including over 240 drug dealers. Narcotics valued in excess of $1,267,739 were confiscated, cash and assets in excess of $681,000 were seized, and 270 machine guns, automatic pistols, shotguns, and rifles were seized.



• In 1996 approximately 120 NPS Park Rangers participated in the Drug Abuse Resistance Education (D.A.R.E.) Program which aided at educating elementary and junior high school students to the dangers of drug use and the loss of self-esteem by those who use drugs.



• The U.S. Park Police are also active in the Project D.A.R.E. program by providing drug awareness education to 40 schools, encompassing 100 classes, with over 2,500 students. Forty-two officers serve as active instructors.