FOR

for

"...[to] conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations."

PREFACE

This Strategic Plan was written to fulfill the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act. Following is a brief overview of that law, passed by the U.S. Congress in 1993.

Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 (GPRA)

GPRA is one of the most recent and comprehensive of a number of laws and executive orders directing federal agencies to join the "performance management revolution" already embraced by private industry and many local, state, and national governments.

In a nutshell, performance management ensures that daily actions and expenditures of resources are guided by long- and short-term goal setting in pursuit of accomplishing an organization’s primary mission, followed by performance measurement and evaluation. Importantly, the goals are quantifiable and measurable results or outcomes, rather than efforts or outputs (activities, services, products). The established and proven performance management approach is to establish goals – allocate resources to accomplish those goals – take action/do the work – measure results – evaluate and report performance – use evaluation to adjust goals and reallocate resources – and continue the loop. This process sharpens our focus on accomplishing our mission in the most efficient and effective ways, and holds managers and employees accountable on a clear and measurable basis.

The approach seems so elegantly simple and logical that one is compelled to ask, "Isn’t that what everyone is already doing." In fact, most federal agencies have not traditionally done business this way. They have been funded and conducted their business by activities rather than by goals. Too often they have conducted business year after year based on what they have always routinely done, rather than in pursuit of mission-oriented goals. Too often they have not measured their performance in terms of results achieved, but rather in level of activities conducted, products produced, or services provided – if they have measured performance at all. And too often managers and employees have not been held accountable for their performance in achieving concrete, results-oriented goals, and have not communicated the outcomes of their work to their important constituencies – the American people, the Congress, even the President. So performance management, as embodied in GPRA, is new, revolutionary, and vitally important to a more effective, efficient, and credible federal government.

GRPA requires federal agencies to develop and use three primary documents in conducting their business. These documents are also to be submitted to the Congress and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB):

1. Strategic Plan of no less than five years duration, reviewed and revised every three years, and containing:

• mission statement based in law, executive order, etc.;
• long-term goals, which are objective, quantified, and measurable, to accomplish mission;
• how goals will be accomplished, an adequate explanation including "…operational processes, skills and technology, and the human, capital, information and other resources required to meet those goals…";
• relationship of annual goals to long term goals, a description of how long term goals are carried out in annual goal increments;
• key external factors which could positively or negatively affect goal accomplishment; and
• program evaluation methodology, a description of how mission and goals were arrived at and a schedule for future program evaluations.
• GPRA also requires consultation with affected and interested parties in the development of the Strategic Plan, and it requires that the plan be
• developed by federal employees (versus contractors, etc.).

1. Annual Performance Plan tiered off the Strategic Plan each year, showing how long term goals will be accomplished in annual increments, and containing:

• annual goals to incrementally achieve long-term goals in Strategic Plan;
• annual work plan, i.e. explanation of how annual goals will be accomplished – "briefly describe the operational processes, skills and technology, and the human, capital, information and other resources required to meet the performance goals…."; and
• basis for measuring results – "…provide a basis for comparing actual program results with the established performance goals…." and "…describe the means to be used to verify and validate measured values."

1. Annual Performance Report reviewing each year’s successes and failures and identifying areas where activities or goals need to be revised in the future, addressing:

• what annual goals were met or exceeded;
• what annual goals were not met;
• why annual goals were not met; and
• what remedial action will be taken for goals not met.

Importantly, GPRA mandates that long-term and annual goals be results or outcomes rather than outputs (activities, products, or services) and that they be "objective, quantifiable, and measurable" so that performance can be adequately measured and reported, progress on mission accomplishment assessed, and managers and employees held accountable.

While the National Park Service has long been a mission-oriented organization, it has also had a long tradition of planning, managing, and budgeting by activity, problem solving and issue resolution. Its response to GPRA requirements will help it focus on accomplishing mission through establishing long-term and annual goals, allocating resources to those goals, and measuring and reporting results.

In consultation with Congress, OMB and other interested parties, the National Park Service (NPS) developed its own unique GPRA implementation process. Using this process, the NPS methodically developed its first "servicewide" Strategic Plan and submitted it on September 30, 1997. That plan was revised and published electronically on January 15, 2000. A copy of revised plan is available for review at park headquarters. It is also available on the Internet at http://www.nps.gov.

The NPS manages the National Park System, which consists of over 375 units located in nearly every state and territory of the nation. Thus the NPS is fundamentally a field-based, resource preservation and visitor service organization, where results or outcomes actually occur in the parks rather than Washington headquarters. In addition, the NPS has legislated partnership responsibilities, carried out by central offices throughout the country, to provide technical assistance and grant funding to other non-federal preservation entities. Therefore, as part of its GPRA implementation process, NPS decided that each of its component parks, programs, and offices would develop and submit their own Strategic Plans, Annual Performance Plans, and Annual Performance Reports. The National Park Management Omnibus Act of 1998 codified into law that all field units of the National Park System would write Strategic Plans and Annual Performance Plans consistent with the Government Performance and Results Act.

The local plans address the long-term goals in the "servicewide" plan that are appropriate to the individual units as parts of the overall National Park System, NPS, and its mission. Then they add goals specific to their own legislative mandates, missions, resources, visitor services, and issues needs. The local plans, then, are a blend of national and local missions and goals.

This Strategic Plan for Mount Rushmore National Memorial follows this pattern. It is a five-year plan covering fiscal years 2001through 2005. It consists of a mission statement born out of the NPS organic act as well as the specific legislation establishing this park. It contains mission goals, closely paralleling the "servicewide" mission goals, that illustrate in broad brushstroke what we do far beyond just five years – "in perpetuity" - to accomplish our stated mission. It then contains long-term goals, which target in quantified, measurable ways what we will accomplish in the next five years toward achieving our overall mission goals and mission. The long-term goals address both appropriate "servicewide" goals as well as park-specific outcomes. The goal numbering protocol follows that of the "servicewide" plan with park-specific suffixes. Since not all servicewide goals apply to Mount Rushmore National Memorial, some numbers are skipped. In addition, there are numbers containing 0’s which are not in the servicewide plan and indicate park-specific goals.

Following the simple goal listing, each long-term goal is repeated with one or more explanatory paragraphs that give background, detail, and other information useful to help the reader understand the goal as well as to sketch in how the goal will be accomplished.

After these goal explanations, the plan contains a general section on "How Goals will be Accomplished" which briefly sketches the park’s organization, staffing, fiscal, infrastructure, and other resources available to achieve the plan’s long-term goals. This is followed in turn by brief discussion of "Key External" factors over which park staff may have influence but not control, and which could positively or negatively affect goal achievement.

Finally, there is a brief discussion of how the contents of the plan were arrived at, and a listing of those who were consulted in the development of the plan.

It should be noted that the goals in this plan are generally predicated on "flat budgets" for the next five years. Other than increases for inflation, we assumed no major increases in funding. Where increases in appropriations were known or are likely, they were taken into account. Where other funding sources (donations, fee revenues, etc.) were "reasonably assured", they too were taken into consideration when setting performance targets. Obviously, limits on funding constrain what can be accomplished toward our

goals and mission. GPRA, however, is distinctly not about discussing budget shortfalls or requesting or justifying additional funding. Rather it is about planning, managing, and communicating what we can accomplish with what we already have. Performance target numbers speak for themselves about how well funded we are to accomplish our mission, and where targets are low, additional budget discussions might be generated. But this is not the primary purpose of the plan.

We would, however, be remiss in our duties as stewards of and storytellers about the priceless natural and cultural resources - defining America’s heritage - which are in our care if we did not duly note that we sincerely believe we are under-funded and under-staffed to fully achieve our important mission and goals. On the other hand, we also recognize that we are but one of many worthwhile federal enterprises which compete for scarce and precious tax dollars, and we are pursuing a wide variety of alternative management,

funding, and staffing scenarios to supplement our appropriations. In the meantime, we welcome the opportunity to respond to the requirements of GPRA with this Strategic Plan and its companion documents to better plan, manage, and communicate how - and how well - we are achieving our mission through performance goals supported by existing, and largely flat, levels of funding.

Each year that the Strategic Plan is in effect, beginning with fiscal year 2001 (October, 2000) there will be a companion Annual Performance Plan which shows in annual goals, that year’s targeted incremental achievement of each long-term goal, and a work plan for accomplishing that increment. Each year there will also be an Annual Performance Report discussing actual achievement of the prior year’s annual goals and progress on long-term goals.

Questions, comments, and requests for additional copies are welcome and encouraged and can be addressed to the Superintendent at P.O. Box 268, Keystone, SD 57751. As they are written and approved, copies of the current year’s Annual Performance Plan and Annual Performance Report will also be available on request, with questions and comments equally welcome.

About the Park

This five-year Strategic Plan has been written for Mount Rushmore National Memorial, one of over 375 units of the greater National Park System administered by the National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

The National Park System preserves outstanding representatives of the best of America’s natural, cultural, and recreational resources of national significance. These resources constitute a significant part of America’s heritage, character, and future. Along with similar resources of local, state, tribal, and national significance administered by other public and private organizations and supported by National Park Service technical assistance and grant funding support, Mount Rushmore is a vital part of America’s national system of parks and other preserved resources. The National Park Service not only directly and indirectly preserves these myriad national treasures, it also makes them available to millions of visitors from throughout the country and the world every year.

The bust of four presidents – George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt – were sculpted in the southeastern granite face of Mount Rushmore as "…a memorial…commemorative of our national history and progress…" (Act of March 3, 1925). This basic legislation authorized the carving and established the purpose of what was to become Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

Subsequent legislation established the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission with the responsibility of completing the memorial "…to be constructed according to designs and models by Gutzon Borglum." Included were charges to "…administer, protect, and develop…" the memorial and specifics such as "…reconstruction of the studio for the preservation of the models, landscaping the contiguous grounds, and construct the entrance to the Memorial." (Acts of February 25, 1929: June 26, 1934; and June 15, 1938.)

By Executive Order, on June 10, 1933, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt placed Mount Rushmore under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service. However, there were no immediate administrative changes and the Mount Rushmore Memorial Commission played the major role in administering the memorial.

The Act of July 3, 1941, by providing "that the Mount Rushmore National Memorial Commission shall cease to exist or function on June 30, 1943," in effect transferred all responsibilities to the National Park Service with the first superintendent being appointed October 1, 1941.

I. MISSION of the National Park Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial

The mission of the National Park Service at Mount Rushmore National Memorial is rooted in and grows from the Executive Order of June 10, 1933 and supplemented by the Organic Act of August 25, 1916. Our mission statement is a synthesis of this mandated purpose, plus the park’s primary significance as itemized below.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial is administered under the spirit and intent of the Act of August 25, 1916, which established the National Park Service and which states the purpose of the service to be, "…to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wildlife therein and to provide for the enjoyment of the same in such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations." This act, those previously mentioned, and subsequent legislation provide direction for the National Park Service to preserve and protect the memorial sculpture and the natural setting, and to provide for the access of the public and for the inspirational and educational appreciation of the cultural and natural resources of the memorial..

Therefore, the purpose of Mount Rushmore National Memorial is to:

· Provide recreational opportunities.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial significance is the sculpture and historic structures and artifacts associated with the carving. The major resource at Mount Rushmore is the sculpture itself; carved during the period from 1927 to 1941 from the southeastern face of a granite upthrust. The sculpted busts of presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln were described as the "Shrine of Democracy" by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in a speech on the site in 1936. Also the sculpture is significant as a unique creative endeavor. Important to the sculpture is the natural scene surrounding and framing it. A stand of ponderosa pine on the adjacent steep slopes provides a setting that complements the carving and contributes eloquently to its full aesthetic appreciation. These naturally occurring evergreens add color and life

Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s mission is accomplished through pursuit of the following broad, "in perpetuity" mission goals:

Goal Explanations

The mission goals and long-term goals in goal category I are inclusive of the mandates in Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s authorizing legislation to protect Mount Rushmore from commercial exploitation; and the NPS Organic Act "to conserve the scenery and the natural and historic objects and the wild life therein…." Subsequent legislation reinforced and expanded these mandates. All goals that pertain to resource preservation and the acquisition of knowledge from and about the resources to meet this mandate are appropriate to this category.

Long-term goals related to the mission goal include the protection, restoration, or maintenance of ecosystems, rare plant and animal populations, archeological and ethnographic resources, historic structures and objects, research collections, cultural traditions, and subsistence activities, relevant to the purpose and/or significance of the memorial. Long-term goals deal with threats to natural and cultural resource values and seeks cooperation with neighboring land managers and that promote the ecosystem management,

Mount Rushmore National Memorial preserves and protects a unique artistic sculpture representing the principles of our present form of government and carved into a massive granite mountain. The memorial contains 1240 acres of which approximately 40 acres are developed. Within the boundaries of the memorial are old-growth forests, riparian streams, various wildlife and outstanding geological resources. The forest is managed to provide the unique setting surrounding the sculpture. Historic structures and artifacts are protected to reveal for current and future visitors the significance of this carving. Security systems are incorporated into the management of the park to insure the safety of employees and visitors.

• Inventory and map disturbed sites
• Replacing lost top soil in areas worn to bedrock
• Revegetation with native plants

• Identification and mapping of exotic species in the field.
• Survey roadsides, disturbed areas, developed areas, and trailside areas.
• Maps of general areas will be developed.
• Prioritize species and areas of control.
• Separate plots will be identified to apply chemical and non-chemical methods such as mowing, clipping, and hand pulling.
• Main attempts at controlling exotic species will be in the spring and fall months.

The National Park Service conducts scholarly and scientific research regarding the sculpture, water quality, air quality and historic artifacts and structures to assure methods for long-term preservation and protection can be met. The memorial protects the sculpture through monitoring techniques, and patching cracks inherent to the mountain for long term preservation. Museum objects are cataloged and preserved using methods that will assure future generations will have access to them. Through studies no known archeological sites exist within the memorial but the area has a rich cultural history which has tremendous potential for research.

The mission goals and long-term goals in Goal Category II embrace the mandate in the NPS Organic Act:

enjoyment of future generations."

Subsequent legislation reinforced and expanded this mission. All effort for visitor satisfaction, enjoyment, safety, appreciation, and understanding of Mount Rushmore’s resources and facilities is appropriate to this category.

The "Organic Act" of August 25, 1916 which established the National Park Service outlines the purpose of the Service to conserve the nations natural and cultural resources and to provide for the enjoyment of these resources. The category IIa goals in this Strategic Plan measures how effective Mount Rushmore National Memorial is at accomplishing the enjoyment aspect of the National Park Service Mission statement by measuring visitor’s level of enjoyment and satisfaction. Goal IIa1 uses random visitor surveys as an instrument to measure the level of satisfaction visitors have with the facilities and services provided at Mount Rushmore National Memorial. Goal IIa2 measures levels of visitor accident and incident rates. The achievement both category IIa goals is essential to ensure that that visitors enjoy Mount Rushmore National Memorial.

The National Park Service offers numerous programs and services both on-site and off-site to provide information about the memorial and its resources. The memorial seeks to provide a quality experience by imparting its meaning and significance through interpretive and educational programs. By showing the value of the memorial visitors will become supporters not only of the memorial but also of national parks in general.

The goals in Goal Category IV support the National Park Service mission. This category generally relates to efficient and effective governmental processes rather than to the results of those processes. These goals measure workplace standards including diversity and competency levels, as well as program efficiencies such as accuracy of construction cost estimates.

Goals in Category IV are the ways that the National Park Service has chosen to better accomplish its mission of protecting park resources, providing for visitor understanding and enjoyment, and assisting others in preserving their resources and the enjoyment of those resources by their constituents.

To become more responsive, efficient, and accountable, the National Park Service must integrate its planning, management, accounting, reporting, and other information resource systems. Integrating or interfacing these systems will provide better cross-communication during daily operations and help the National Park Service develop required annual performance plans in compliance with the Government Performance and Results Act. Modern electronic technology makes it possible to integrate/interface these systems among the park units, central offices, and program centers. Improvements in the areas of workforce diversity, employee safety, employee housing, and employee performance standards will help the National Park Service accomplish its mission. Long-term goals pertaining to organizational responsiveness, efficiency, and accountability are related to this mission goal.

The National Park Service will pursue maximum public benefit through contracts, cooperative agreements, contributions, and other alternative approaches to support park operations and partnership programs. Partners include non-government organizations such as friends groups, foundations, cooperating associations, and concessionaires, as well as federal, state, tribal, and local government organizations which already assist NPS managerial ability through partnerships and cooperative agreements. Long-term goals that deal with park management strategies and funding sources carried out in cooperation with other government and non-government organizations and private donors relate to this mission goal.

Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s long-term goals will be accomplished in five annual increments detailed each year in an Annual Performance Plan. The Annual Performance Plan will contain annual goal increments of the long-term goals. It will also contain a work plan for each annual goal, which will lay out the activities and products, along with their personnel and fiscal costs that will be carried out to achieve the annual goal.

The five-year summary forms in Appendix A illustrate how annual goals and work efforts will accomplish each long-term goal.

The estimated human and fiscal resources available to achieve the park’s FY 2001 annual goals and beyond include a base operating budget of approximately $2,482,000, a permanent work force of 39 permanent positions, and approximately 59 seasonal positions.

The park’s base (appropriated ONPS) budget is supplemented each fiscal year by non-appropriated fund sources and by competing for additional appropriated funds for projects. In FY2000 these additional funds included approximately $10,500 of donated funds (or value), $31,000 of park housing funds, $477,000 repair and rehabilitation funds, and $150,000 cyclic maintenance funds.

Additional specific assistance in achieving the park’s annual goals will be provided by the National Park Service’s Midwest Regional Office, by the Western Archeological and Conservation Center, the Harper’s Ferry Center, and the Denver Service Center. The Black Hills Parks and Forests Association in addition to directly helping accomplishing education and visitor service goals through literature sales and donating approximately $15,000 for interpretive and educational purposes, will provide sales clerks at the visitor center and will operate the books store at no cost to the NPS. Details of all these supplementary and/or alternative activities, services, products, funds and staffing are shown, where applicable, on the annual work plan worksheets which follow.

Legislative and political challenges to the mission and management of the National Park Service (NPS) required that NPS personnel have the capability to reasonably and factually respond privately or publicly if necessary.

Changing demographics of park visitors and the general public challenge us to find new and relevant means of providing interpretive/educational services.

Economically and environmentally re-emerging cities will continue to demand increasing NPS resources.

Citizen Action and Land Rights groups will require us to develop effective means of communicating NPS goals and policies to such groups and the public with methods that incorporate tactful resolve.

V. PROGRAM EVALUATION METHODOLOGY AND SCHEDULE FOR FUTURE

In order to comply with the National Park Service process and policy pertaining to GPRA, the management team and several other key staff members have successfully progressed through a number of processes. All members of the park management team received training, assemble a GPRA planning team, and appointed a park GPRA Coordinator to facilitate planning team efforts. This group reviewed park legislation, the NPS servicewide Strategic Plan, and existing planning documents in developing the park mission statement and mission goals. In addition the team reviewed the current status of resources and visitor services, current fiscal and human resources, and provided interested parties with the opportunity to participate in determining the most important needs in developing long-term goals for the park. The team then laid each long-term goal out in five annual increments to determine necessary annual outcomes, funding, and staffing needed to reach the five-year performance targets. A draft of the final plan was then developed and written which was review by the Superintendent and park staff. The final document was approved by the Superintendent and copies submitted to the Midwest Regional Office.

The Mount Rushmore National Memorial Strategic Plan will be reviewed annually and potential minor adjustments made based on annual performance achievements from the prior year. The plan will undergo a more substantive review and revision at least every three years as required by GPRA. All substantive reviews and revisions will follow the same pattern as outlined above.

GPRA requires that Congress, OMB, and other interested and affected parties be consulted in the development of Strategic Plans. Congress and OMB, as well as the Department of the Interior, were extensively consulted in the development of the NPS servicewide plan. In the development of Mount Rushmore National Memorial’s local Strategic Plan, the opportunity for public review and comment on the draft Strategic Plan was announced through the media. In addition copies of the draft were provided to those listed below.

The following park staff members were intimately and extensively involved in preparing this strategic plan:

Dan Wenk, Superintendent

Mark Davison, Park Ranger

Don Hart, Park Ranger

Jill Hart, Administrative Officer/Budget Analyst

Paul Menard, Chief, Black Hills Administrative Group (GPRA Coordinator)

Ben O’Dell, Chief of Maintenance

Mike Pflaum, Chief of Resource Management and Visitor Protection

Jim Popovich, Chief of Interpretation

Meg Schwartz, Management Assistant

Rick Wallner, Assistant Chief of Interpretation

Bruce Weisman, Museum Curator

The following charts illustrate how each of this plan’s long-term goals will be accomplished incrementally through annual goals and work plans over the next five years.

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code: 1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code: 1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code: 1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code:1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code: 1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name:

Park/Program Org Code: Date Prepared: March 13, 2001

Park/Program Name: Mount Rushmore National Memorial

Park/Program Org Code: 1500 Date Prepared: March 13, 2001