[2] He favored alternatives to full federal acquisition of proposed parklands, stressed the importance of working with other government bodies and private entities to protect lands in and outside the system, and sought to achieve a greater financial return to the NPS from park concessions.

[3] The National Park Service underwent an intensive review of its responsibilities and prospects for the future during its 75th anniversary celebration in 1991.

The gathering, the October 10, 1991, session of which was officially a public meeting advertised in the Federal Register of September 19, 1991, resulted in six strategic objectives and the identification of a variety of issues and recommendations, which were published in a book entitled National Parks for the 21st Century: The Vail Agenda (Library of Congress Card Number: 92-60741).

Although the meeting took place during the administration of Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan and NPS Director James Ridenour, the Vail agenda and vision remains today as a directional tool for the NPS, with the book itself, published under the leadership of Secretary Bruce Babbitt and Director Roger Kennedy, who wrote the foreword and preface.

[3] James M. Ridenour, The National Parks Compromised: Pork Barrel Politics and America's Treasures (Merrillville, IN: ICS Books, 1994).