USNPS Research Learning Centers push back on DOI watchdog criticism

A report that highlighted flaws with how the National Park Service oversees Residential Environmental Learning Centers mischaracterized how those nonprofit operations work and failed to reflect the benefits they bring to the parks and their visitors, according to some of the organizations that operate those centers.

There are 18 environmental learning centers across the National Park System, from NatureBridge operations in a handful of parks and the North Cascades Institute at North Cascades National Park to the Cuyahoga Valley Institute at its namesake park and Yellowstone Forever in Yellowstone National Park. Some of these nonprofit centers date to the 1960s, when they were welcomed by the National Park Service to provide environmental education in park settings.

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2020/01/oig-report-residential-environmental-learning-centers-called-misleading