GISCorps Volunteer Assisting The Fund for People In Parks

Established in 2014, The Fund for People in Parks (FPP) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to enhancing the visitor experience in western National Parks. By providing private funding, the Fund supports dynamic and creative park leadership by offering professional consulting services that improve access to and enjoyment of each park’s unique cultural, historic, and natural features. Additionally, the Fund collaborates with local park support groups, offering direct grants and consulting services to build their capacity for effective project management. In their role as an official philanthropic fundraising partner of the National Park Service, the Fund focuses on smaller and lesser known parks as well as stories that are often under-told in the Park Service.In order to meet their goals, FPP is requesting the assistance of a seasoned GISCorps volunteer for building a ExB (Experience Builder) web application in ArcGIS Online (AGO). The volunteer will assist in identifying and adding several datasets to the application as well as conducting spatial analysis to identify congressional districts that intersect with national parks and other public lands. Additionally, the volunteer will also train FPP’s representatives in ArcGIS Online (AGO) administration and best practices.

Following the recruitment, Dave Lockney, GISCorps volunteer in North Carolina, USA is selected for this project and is in contact with Funds for People In Parks representatives.

Introduction

Stretching across more than 85 million acres, the 433 units of the National Park system protect some of the most significant natural, cultural, and historic places in the country. These parks draw millions of visitors each year, shaping local economies and anchoring a shared national heritage. Yet the civic landscape surrounding them is often less visible. Every park exists within one or more congressional districts, and the decisions made by those elected officials directly influence funding, stewardship, and long-term preservation.

Inspired in part by GeoALS’s Glen Rouse ALS Legislative Viewer, created in ArcGIS Experience Builder, The Fund for People in Parks envisioned a new digital tool, the National Park Explorer, that would allow park visitors, supporters, partners, and advocates to explore all 433 National Park Service units and understand how each connects to congressional representation. The goal was to build a clear, intuitive interface—one that links parks to districts and encourages visitors to learn more about the elected officials whose decisions influence the future of these landscapes.

Experience Builder 

The project began with a review of datasets available from the Living Atlas, the National Park Service, Conservation.gov, and the U.S. Census Bureau. As part of their work, GeoALS maintains a detailed set of layers in ArcGIS Online which reflect the current House of Representative and Senate districts. These were extremely helpful for building out the legislative component of this project. Additionally, National Park Service economic impact data was added to highlight how park visitation contributes to local economies, giving users a broader sense of each park’s place within its region.

With the data framework in place, tailored web maps and foundational services were created for use in ArcGIS Experience Builder. These components form the backbone of the National Park Explorer, allowing visitors to explore individual National Park Service units, understand where those units overlap congressional districts, and see who represents those landscapes in Congress. To further enhance the experience, concise park descriptions and images were curated to provide visitors with approachable background and key details about each site. Throughout the design and development process, clarity and usability guided every decision so that the tool supports both casual learning and focused advocacy.

Along the way, several challenges arose, requiring creative problem-solving. Several data sources existed in incompatible formats (such as the Economic data, which was in a PDF table) and needed to be converted or standardized before they could be used reliably in ArcGIS Online. In other cases, authoritative information was difficult to locate or scattered across multiple repositories. Ensuring continuity of the tool meant standardizing disparate materials, preserving public-domain data, and developing Python scripts to streamline future updates as new information becomes available.

The National Park Explorer was built using a custom template in ArcGIS Experience Builder. Visitors first encounter a welcoming landing page with a clear call to action inviting them to explore. A Featured Parks section highlights a rotating selection of units, using an assigned random value to refresh the set shown each day and encourage repeat exploration.

After selecting a featured park or choosing to go directly to the map, visitors arrive at the main National Park Explorer interface. If a featured park was chosen, the map automatically navigates to that location.

A sidebar organizes the experience into three tabs, making it easy to browse park units, filter by park type, or search for a specific site. The Find a Park window uses the National Park Service layer to power its search function, allowing users to locate parks quickly and seamlessly.

Once a park is selected, either from the Find a Park window or directly on the map, the Park Info tab populates with images, a curated description, and the legislators whose districts intersect the park’s boundary. Arcade expressions were used to format the park info window, adding a button to take visitors to the official National Park Service website for the unit. If The Fund for People in Parks has supported a project at that site, an additional button highlights that work and connects visitors to more information.

Survey123 Form

A Survey123 form was also integrated to collect optional feedback from visitors and partners. This mechanism will help guide future enhancements and ensure the tool continues to evolve in response to its users.

Conclusion

In collaboration with GISCorps, The Fund for People in Parks now has a modern, accessible tool that connects park visitors and supporters to the civic landscape that surrounds every National Park Service unit. National Park Explorer gives visitors and advocates a clearer understanding of how the National Park system connects to their elected officials, while providing The Fund for People in Parks with a sustainable, extensible platform to support future engagement and outreach.

Project Complete