(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2016-05)
Price, Shelley
This paper focuses on the process by which health and well-being benefits associated with immersive nature experiences are provided to the entirety of the federal tax-paying citizenry, with particular
attention to people with disabilities. Other federal legislation since the
NPS’s establishment also provides legal guarantee to equity of opportunity
in specific categories of national park experiences. Section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973 mandates that the benefits of a park program or activity are provided in such as way as to not deny them to individuals with disabilities (43 CFR Part 17.549). “Programming” can include natural experience programming, especially in parks where the key park elements are nature-based. This program accessibility is accompanied by a mandate for the
design, construction, or alteration of built facilities to comply with
official design standards for accessibility to ensure that they can be used
by individuals with disabilities (UFAS, Section 3.5). This focus on equal
access to people with disabilities matches the NPS’s current planning
efforts designed to increase the accessibility of the parks.