This paper provides a summary of innovative transportation finance techniques and discusses their applicability to the National Park Service (NPS). The primary finding is that while NPS currently engages in innovative finance techniques such as public-private partnerships, use of other techniques would likely require specific Congressional authorization and/or may raise questions regarding their appropriateness within the framework of the mission and values of the NPS. Section 1 of the paper provides a background discussion of innovative finance. Section 2 provides an overview of specific mechanisms and techniques and their potential applicability to the National Park Service. Section 3 presents examples of innovative finance that have previously been used by NPS.

Final Report, May 2013
NPS Transportation Innovative Finance Options (PDF, 376KB)