Recognizing the ever increasing societal pressures being placed upon America’s unique natural and cultural resources contained in the System, the Secretary shall continually improve the ability of the Service to provide state-of-the-art management, protection, and interpretation of, and research on, the resources of the System.

The Secretary shall ensure that management of System units is enhanced by the availability and utilization of a broad program of the highest quality science and information.

The Secretary shall enter into cooperative agreements with colleges and universities, including land grant schools, in partnership with other Federal and State agencies, to establish cooperative study units to conduct multi-disciplinary research and develop integrated information products on the resources of the System, or the larger region of which System units are a part.

The Secretary shall undertake a program of inventory and monitoring of System resources to establish baseline information and to provide information on the long-term trends in the condition of System resources. The monitoring program shall be developed in cooperation with other Federal monitoring and information collection efforts to ensure a cost-effective approach.

The Secretary shall take such measures as are necessary to ensure the full and proper utilization of the results of scientific study for System unit management decisions. In each case in which an action undertaken by the Service may cause a significant adverse effect on a System unit resource, the administrative record shall reflect the manner in which System unit resource studies have been considered. The trend in the condition of resources of the System shall be a significant factor in the annual performance evaluation of each superintendent of a System unit.