We are pleased to present this final General Management Plan for Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Muir Woods National Monument. The plan is the culmination of several years of effort involving the thoughtful input and participation of thousands of individuals, dozens of public agencies, and numerous outside organizations and stakeholder groups. This plan replaces the 1980 General Management Plan. That plan for a National Park in an Urban Area effectively guided the park for over three decades, and most of its major concepts have been fulfilled.
A general management plan is a key document for any unit of the National Park System, because within the plan can be found the aspirations of those who care about the park, expressed as a framework that will direct and sustain more detailed implementation planning and guide management decisions over the next 20 years.
The new plan for Golden Gate National Recreation Area and Muir Woods reflects the intent of Congress in establishing the parks, as well as the vast amount of knowledge about the parks\u27 exceptional natural and cultural resources that has been gained since 1980. The plan offers a vision of the park that accommodates its changing cultural and social landscape. It was developed in the context of the evolution in attitudes toward conservation and preservation that has occurred over the past three decades - as well as changing preferences in modes of transportation, recreation choices, and ways of experiencing parklands. The vision in this plan is predicated on partnership as an effective management approach, and will rely on the continued support of our partners, especially the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy.
This park has become central to the life of the San Francisco Bay Area, and a destination for millions of people from elsewhere in the United States and around the world. Because of the way the park engages the community as visitors, stewards and advocates, it has become a model of success for park managers around the world