In-Holdings: The Undiscovered Crisis

The least known word in the national park lexicon is the same word that describes the greatest crisis facing the national parks -- "in-holdings." There currently is a lack of protection for six million acres of non-park owned lands and rights still existing within national parks, not including state parks. In-holdings can be sold to the highest bidder, often without any action by national and state park officials to stop them. Such national and state park officials need these properties in order to complete their parks, but are constrained by cumbersome regulations and inadequate funding.

For example, in Alaska a public university owns an important waterfowl area in one of the nation's largest national parks. The university has subdivided the land around this lake and is selling it to the highest bidder.

In the Grand Teton National Park, a family has subdivided its farm property, which exists inside the national park, because it has received the blessing of county officials. This action has had the effect of increasing the cost of the land to the American taxpayer.

In the Virgin Islands, investors from around the world have purchased tracts of land inside national parks and are selling these undeveloped one-quarter acre lots for a million dollars each. All these are just a few of the crisis stories of in-holdings. Though the National Park Service considers only 200,000 acres of the six million acres of in-holdings as immediately threatened, all of them are threatened due to the ever-increasing value of parklands.

One horrifying fact is that charitable institutions such as universities often seek the highest dollar. In one state, the state lands agency is required by constitution to seek the highest dollar for lands it owns, even though the state agency will be paid by another state agency.

In the national park system, in-holdings are encumbered not only by the cost of the land but also by the power of individuals and their influence on elected officials who see the national park budget as a blank checkbook. Seldom do land settlement disputes between owners and park services go before local courts for final determination of value without the highest value being granted to the local property owner.

In addition, the National Park Service and most state park agencies are constrained in countless other ways. For example, the National Park Service's number of land acquisition personnel has been cut considerably.

At the state level, few state park agencies have the authority to rescue property from being bulldozed, developed, clear-cut, or destroyed. And then there is the question of real commitment by politicians to finishing a park begun by another.

How does this issue of in-holdings stack up against the other issues faced by park managers? The need for maintenance dollars, new construction, proper funding of salaries, employee housing, and acquisition of in-holdings are all critical issues that should be addressed in a comprehensive way. However, in-holdings are the one issue seldom talked about. It's always possible, as one state has already done, to "mothball" state parks until they have the resources to provide for the visitors. This is a wise approach but seldom taken by most park systems, including the national park system. If existing infrastructures such as water or sewerage systems are inadequate in a park, it is possible to provide for alternative systems on a temporary basis. Or, a park can be closed until the dollars are there to re-open it and properly provide for the visitors.

But once you lose an in-holding to development, the land and its significance are lost forever. The entire landscape is marred, the wildlife corridor broken, the historic feeling denied to future generations. A subdivision or an individual home within a park is a lost opportunity in perpetuity, a way of saying to our children that we did not care.

That's why the National Park Trust believes that the real challenge facing America's parklands is most often over looked. The challenge is to acquire in an aggressive fashion those threatened and endangered in-holdings in national and state parks.

For more information, please contact Susan Hawley.

Call to Action

In-holdings are privately held land still in the boudaries of national and state parks. This land is vulnerable to development such as resorts or subdivisions. The National Park Trust is actively involved in finding ways to acquire in-holdings for preservation in the national park system. With 7 million acres still privately owned, the challenge is daunting. The National Park Trust funds available to national and state park directors are slowly reducing such in-holdings, but we still need your help. If you would like to participate in your favorite park or contribute, please contact the National Park Trust. We will be sure that your concern is represented as we fight this most significant threat.