Editing National Park Service (section)

===Volunteers-In-Parks (VIP)===
The [[Volunteers-In-Parks]] program was authorized in 1969 by the Volunteers in the Parks Act of 1969.<ref name="05Report">{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/managedocs.htm |title=Director's Order #7: Volunteers in Parks; June 13, 2005; Department of the Interior, National Park Service |publisher=Nps.gov |access-date=October 3, 2010 |archive-date=May 30, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090530062003/http://www.nps.gov/archive/volunteer/managedocs.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> for the purpose of allowing the public to serve in the nations parks providing support and skills for their enhancement and protection.<ref name="brochure">Volunteers in Parks; National Park Service, United States Department of the Interior, Government Printing Office, Washington, D.C.; 1990</ref>

Volunteers come from all walks of life and include professionals, artists, laborers, homemakers and students, performing varied duties. Many come from surrounding communities and some travel significant distances.<ref name=brochure/> In a 2005 annual report, the NPS reported that,

<blockquote>...137,000 VIPs contributed 5.2 million hours of service (or 2500 FTEs) valued at $91,260,000 based on the private sector value figure of $17.55 as used by AARP, Points of Light Foundation, and other large-scale volunteer programs including many federal agencies. There are 365 separate volunteer programs throughout the NPS. Since 1990, the number of volunteers has increased an average of 2% per year.<ref>Volunteer in Parks, FY05 Annual Report, Department of the Interior, National Park Service; GPO, Washington D.C.; 2006</ref></blockquote>

FTE stands for full-time equivalent (one work year). In 2012, the National Park Service reported that over 221,000 volunteers contributed about 6.4 million hours annually.<ref name="nps.gov">{{cite web|title=NPS.gov Homepage (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/index.htm|access-date=April 30, 2020|website=National Park Service|archive-date=April 20, 1997|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19970420085402/https://www.nps.gov/index.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>

Additionally, other types of volunteers also conduct offsite NPS public outreach and education, such as the Trails & Rails program guides on board certain segments of long-haul [[Amtrak]] routes, who offer passengers insights to the travel area's natural resources and heritage.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.amtrak.com/trails-rails-heritage-appreciation-during-your-train-ride | title=Amtrak | access-date=March 16, 2017 | archive-date=March 28, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170328070821/https://www.amtrak.com/trails-rails-heritage-appreciation-during-your-train-ride | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.nps.gov/subjects/amtraktrailsandrails/about.htm | title=Partnering to Connect People with Places - Amtrak Trails & Rails |website=U.S. National Park Service | access-date=March 16, 2017 | archive-date=April 4, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404180648/https://www.nps.gov/subjects/amtraktrailsandrails/about.htm | url-status=live}}</ref>