Since its inception in 1916, the National Park Service (NPS) has been the steward of the United States National Parks, Monuments, and other historic, natural, and cultural sites. Despite the growth of the organization and its responsibilities, there has been no comprehensive study of the total economic value of the National Park Service is. Such a value would include the benefits accrued by consumers who directly use NPS units or programs. A total economic value should also include the benefits that Americans receive from knowing that the National Park Service exists, even if they don’t use its services. This paper seeks to provide an economic valuation framework and an economic valuation case study. The framework will be based upon a wide span of economic literature with a focus on environmental economics. The framework incorporates direct use and passive use values within park units, and a valuation category for cooperative programming outside the boundaries of those units. The framework includes a graphical representation of the valuation model and descriptors of each value field. The applicability of the framework is demonstrated through a case study based on Joshua Tree National Park, an NPS unit in the Southern California desert, and categorizes various resources and programs provided by the park in the value fields described in the framework.
