The National Park Service (NPS) recently selected RSG, based in White River Junction, to serve as the nation’slead contractor for visitor use and social science research in the national parks through a five-year, up to $20 millioncontract. This provides RSG with a unique opportunity to help the NPS with the stewardship of America’s nationaltreasures, the national parks.The National Park Service’s mission is to preserve “the natural and cultural resources and values of the national parksystem for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.” From managing snowmobilinguse in Yellowstone and rafting on the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, to traffic congestion and crowding inYosemite Valley, RSG will work with the NPS through this contract to help address the agency’s most complex andhigh-profile management challenges. RSG is uniquely qualified to lead this effort given its expertise in public landsplanning and management, transportation planning and engineering, and acoustics.
“RSG provides both the NPS Social Science Program and the Department of Interior with a highly experienced team
that can deliver on visitor use and social science information needs into the future,” said Bret Meldrum, Chief of the
NPS Social Science Program. “This broad and flexible contract diversifies our capabilities of conducting social science
research to inform very pressing, and oftentimes contentious, issues at the heart of public interest and land
management opportunities.”
RSG’s work with the National Park Service is led by Dr. Steve Lawson who has conducted visitor use and social
science research in the national parks for 15 years, and served as Visiting Social Scientist in Yosemite National Park in
2007. RSG’s recent projects in the national parks include helping restore the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias in
Yosemite National Park, addressing parking and traffic congestion in Sequoia and Mount Rainier National Parks, and
managing scenic air tours in Grand Canyon, Zion, Bryce, and Glacier National Parks. Dr. Lawson earned his PhD in
Natural Resources Management from the University of Vermont and is active in academic publications, and the
graduate program at the University of Vermont. He recently co-authored a book entitled Sustainable Transportation
in the National Parks, which was published this summer by University Press of New England (UPNE).
“We are thrilled to be awarded this contract with the NPS,” said Dr. Lawson. “It raises our partnership with the NPS
to a new level, and provides us an incredible opportunity to help the NPS protect some of the most well-known and
cherished places on earth.”
One of the first projects RSG will work on under this new contract involves designing and implementing a visitor use
monitoring program for the National Park Service to track trends in national park visitation and the characteristics of
national park visitors. RSG will work with the National Park Service to design and pilot this study in 20 national park
units over the next two years.
“We are honored to be working with the National Park Service to manage some of the nation’s most valuable
resources,” said RSG’s CEO, Stephen Lawe. “This work is a great example of why RSG exists as a company – to
make a positive impact on the world by enabling informed decision-making.”
About RSG. RSG (Resource Systems Group) creatively applies state-of-the-art modeling and analytics to transportation planning, market
strategy, environmental management, and custom software development, helping organizations make critical decisions
with confidence. RSG is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in White River Junction (VT) with
additional offices in Burlington (VT), Arlington (VA), Evansville (IN), Chicago (IL), Salt Lake City (UT), and San
Diego (CA).
(RSG, White River Junction, VT)—10.7.2014