Dear
Friend:
Almost
since the creation of the National Park Service in 1916, one of our oldest
traditions has been the Superintendent's Annual Report.This
report was meant to contain, in the superintendent's own words, a summary
of the major events effecting the park over the year.Although
there has never been an iron-clad format which must be used, most reports
included descriptions of the park's successes and failures, the accomplishments
achieved, the threats perceived, and a general rendering of what happened.
Because
of the nature of these reports, they have always been considered a principal
resource for historians and others who are interested in the operation
and development of our parks.
Last
year, for the first time, the National Park Service did not ask for the
superintendent's annual report.Instead,
we were required to submit an "annual performance report" as one of the
bureaucratic requirements of the Government Performance Results Act.We
did so, of course.However, that
annual report primarily contains numbers, percentages, and a lot of "achieved"
or "not achieved."In other words,
it is a valuable report on performance, but it is not a narrative report,
in context, about what happened in the park, or why.
After
some thought, we have decided to carry on the tradition of the old-fashioned
superintendent's annual report for Gettysburg National Military Park.Although
it takes considerable effort - both on my part as well as the staff's -
to put it together, we think it will continue to serve as an invaluable
historical narrative of a year in the life of the park.
Consequently,
we are pleased to submit to you the Superintendent's Annual Report for
fiscal year 1999.We know it's somewhat
late to be providing you with a report on 1999 activities, but it took
us a while to decide that the effort of putting the report together was
worth the effort.With luck, we will
be able to follow up with the Annual Report for fiscal year 2000 within
a few months.
Sincerely,
/s/
Dr.
John A. Latschar
Superintendent