Doing Business With The National Park Service

The opportunity to contract with the National Park Service (NPS) offers you the chance to become part of our nation’s history and preservation. In 2005, contracts of $24,384,236 were awarded in the Midwest Region, and more projects are planned for 2006. However, your business is not bound by the borders of the Midwest Region alone. Your services may be useful to any of the more than 300 NPS sites in the U.S., American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. The following will help acquaint you with the system and get you on track to doing business with the NPS.

Created in 1916, the National Park Service was organized as a separate bureau of the Department of Interior. It has since grown to include 388 park areas in which 60% of those areas are intended for historical preservation and symbolism. The NPS is comprised of seven regions and several centralized contracting centers which serve the park areas in those states.

 

NPS regions include:

 

These regions encompass 49 states and 4 territories. The diversity of the parks is reflected in the variety of titles given to them. These include such designations as national park, national preserve, national monument, national memorial, national historic site, national seashore, and national battlefield.

The Midwest Region of the NPS covers 13 states and 56 areas. The states included in the Midwest Region are: Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Kansas, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio. The region’s park areas include; Homestead National Monument of America, Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield, Pipestone National Monument, and Mount Rushmore National Memorial. The Midwest Regional Office is located at 601 Riverfront Drive. The NPS has had a presence in Omaha for more than 50 years.

In the near future, the NPS has plans to conduct several projects in the Midwest Region. Recently, a contract to rehabilitate the foundations of the Nolan and Wallace Houses located at the Harry S. Truman National Historic Site was awarded. A 2 to 5 million dollar project to construct a Heritage Center at Homestead National Monument of America in Beatrice, NE is expected to be advertised for bid in the very near future .

The NPS procures a vast array of products and services. As stated above, the NPS does award construction contracts for the many park areas around the country. Construction; however, is not the only concern of the NPS. The service also purchases a wide variety of supplies and services to include architect engineering services, and archeological and curatorial services. Recently, the Midwest Region purchased an impressive Civil War collection representing the Trans Mississippi Theater. The collection is housed at the Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield near Springfield, MO.

Doing business with the National Park Service can be very rewarding. Not only are you earning business, but you play an important role in preserving some of our most historical and natural resources for the continued enjoyment of generations present and in the future. Debra Imhoff, Midwest Regional Chief of Contracting, says completing an NPS contract makes businesses “really become a part of the site history.” Moreover, she notes that while contracts are important for “preserving the history of the site” so that they are not forgotten, the fact that a contractor is participating in ensuring the history of that site continues, is critical to the public and future generations having the opportunity to visit a site.

If you are interested in doing business with the National Park Service, please contact your PTAC consultant. You may also find more information by contacting Debra Imhoff or Billy Davis with the National Park Service. They can be contacted by calling (402) 661-1606 or by email at debra_imhoff@nps.gov or billy_davis@mail.nps.gov. The National Park Service website also provides valuable information about the agency at www.nps.gov .

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