COLUMBIA — The National Park Service and South Carolina’s State Park Service have entered into a collaborative agreement to share resources and visitor services to celebrate NPS’ 100th anniversary.

The partnership strengthens connections between the resource management, interpretive services and educational programming at both agencies, and provides a more “Seamless System of Parks” for visitors to enjoy.

“As we celebrate the National Park Service’s 100th Birthday this year, Americans everywhere are encouraged to ‘Find Your Park’ in any public space,” said Barclay Trimble, National Park Service Deputy Regional Director, Southeast. “This new partnership between the National Park Service and South Carolina State Park Service demonstrates solidarity in our shared mission of providing safe recreation and preservation of our critical resources.”

“Our goal has always been to preserve, protect and interpret South Carolina’s natural and cultural treasures for today and future generations,” said Phil Gaines, Director of the State Park Service. “A partnership with the national park service means we’ll have more resources to do just that.”

One of the joint projects would add all eight NPS sites in South Carolina to the state park service’s Ultimate Outsider program, a promotion that offers prizes to people who visit all state parks. Those who visit all state and national parks in South Carolina will win a T-shirt and a park passport that allows free admission to state parks for one year.

Another joint project will be a Bird Bio-Blitz that NPS is hosting to celebrate its Centennial. Parks across the nation, including national and state parks in South Carolina, will be hosting bird walks, demonstrations, bird counts and other activities to learn more about the bio-diversity of natural communities.

A variety of other activities, ranging from joint training exercises between the two agencies to joint family campouts, are also being planned under the new partnership.

For more information about the collaborative agreement between the State Park Service and NPS, contact Scott Teodorski, Chief of Interpretation at Congaree National Park, at Scott_Teodorski@NPS.gov or 803-647-3969.

Staff Report