Another Park Service e-gov quest

Earlier this year, I posted about how frustrated I was when I tried to find some documents on the Park Service's Web site.

Then this morning on my drive in, I heard that the Park Service is seeking comments on its plan for the National Mall. Here is the WP story on the subject. And it seems that they are attempting to use the Web to get as much comment as possible given that the National Mall is such a part of the country. So they created a Web site at www.nps.gov/nationalmallplan . Unfortunately, I was driving and, therefore, unable to write the site down. Of course, by the time I got into the office, I didn't remember the story, let alone the Web site location.

So I thought this would be an opportunity to see whether this plan was easier to find. The short answer: not really.

I got to my trusty Google search engine and key in "Park Service National Mall", which took me to the National Mall Web site. Under their "management" tab, you find some stuff, but not really what I was looking for.

I tried FirstGov keying in National Mall plan.

So if the radio station didn't mention the site or link to it from their Web site, it would have been difficult to find. The WP only provides the link on the second page of it's story online.

All of that being said, the Park Service's Web site sure is nice. It keeps the common look and feel that you get with the information that they hand out at the parks and monuments, and it is easy to find parks. It was just difficult to find the National Mall plan.

Personal aside: This AP story, posted on the WP Web site, is written by John Heilprin, who was a colleague of mine when we both worked at a small daily on New Hampshire's Seacoast called Foster's Daily Democrat.