As custodian of the national park system, the National Park Service (NPS) is steward of many of America's most important natural and cultural resources. It is charged to preserve them unimpaired for the enjoyment of present and future generations. If they are degraded or lost, so is the parks' reason for being.

Almost every park in the system has cultural resources, the material evidence of past human activities. Finite and nonrenewable, these tangible resources begin to deteriorate almost from the moment of their creation. Once gone they cannot be recovered. In keeping with the NPS organic act of 1916 and varied historic preservation laws, park management activities must reflect awareness of the irreplaceable nature of these material resources.

Cultural resource management involves research, to identify, evaluate, document, register, and establish other basic information about cultural resources; planning, to ensure that this information is well integrated into management processes for making decisions and setting priorities; and stewardship, under which planning decisions are carried out and resources are preserved, protected, and interpreted to the public. NPS Office of Policy: NPS-28 Cultural Resource Management Guideline. (Click on this link for full text).

There are 22 National Parks in Arizona. See https://www.nps.gov/state/az/index.htm for individual park information. A list of contacts for Section 106 purposes is provided below.