Lack of Funding Threatens Historic Harpers Ferry; New Business Plan Says National Park Needs an Additional $3.5M Annually 3/11/2004
From: Joy Oakes of the National Parks Conservation Association, 202-454-3386 WASHINGTON, March 11 -- Harpers Ferry National Historical Park released today the results of a comprehensive financial analysis that reveals an annual funding shortfall of $3.5 million with $9.9 million in needs. This shortage of 36 cents for every dollar it needs deprives the park of money necessary to restore deteriorating historic buildings and meet the needs of its nearly 300,000 visitors annually. "Harpers Ferry is a national treasure under siege from chronic and critical funding shortfalls," said Joy Oakes, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Mid-Atlantic regional director. "This new report provides concrete evidence of just how poorly the park is funded and the impact of insufficient funding on the National Park Service's ability to preserve the stories and structures from important times in American history." Harpers Ferry National Historical Park participated in a six-year-old nationwide partnership between the National Park Service and NPCA to complete a financial analysis and write a business plan for park management. To date, the partnership program, called the Business Plan Initiative, has used M.B.A. and public policy graduate students to analyze more than 60 national park sites across the country, setting priorities for funding and strategies for improving and preserving park resources. Research gleaned through this program shows that on average, America's national parks operate with only two-thirds of the needed funding-a nationwide shortfall in excess of $600 million annually. "Harpers Ferry is representative of parks across the country. Funding is short by one-third or more-limiting the ability of the Park Service to protect our national heritage," Oakes added. As a result of its $3.5 million annual shortfall, Harpers Ferry is unable to stabilize and restore deteriorating historic structures such as the Shipley School and is forced to rely on emergency funds to pay for critical maintenance. The park turns away three out of every four school groups requesting ranger-led educational programs. Nine miles of trails need to be maintained and signage updated. The grounds of the Federal Armory, built at George Washington's request in 1799 to produce muskets and seized by John Brown in 1859 to incite and arm a slave uprising, have never been researched by archaeologists, although they are presumed to hold valuable information about the town's history. In a recent letter to President Bush, the 350-member coalition of Americans for National Parks, led by NPCA, requested an increase of $240 million in the fiscal year 2005 operating budget of the national parks. This increase would help meet the needs of Harpers Ferry and the entire National Park System; the administration requested of Congress an increase of merely $76 million, which won't even cover mandatory cost of living increases at most parks. The Americans for National Parks coalition, which includes chambers of commerce, private businesses, government municipalities, park friends groups, and tourism and trade associations across the country, is working with Congress and the administration to address park needs by increasing funding by $600 million annually. A new National Parks Caucus has been formed in the House of Representatives by two champions of increased funding for the national parks: Rep. Mark Souder (R-Ind.) and Rep. Brian Baird (D-Wash.). The bipartisan caucus currently has 33 members, including several members of the House leadership and local congressmen from Maryland and Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in the states of West Virginia, Virginia, and Maryland, Harpers Ferry National Historical Park was established in 1944 to preserve the town's important role in American history, influencing the Civil War, the civil rights of African-Americans, manufacturing, and transportation. --- NPCA -- Protecting Parks for Future Generations(r) Founded in 1919, the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association, with more than 300,000 members, is America's only private, nonprofit membership organization dedicated solely to protecting the National Park System. A library of national park information, including fact sheets, congressional testimony, position statements, and press releases, can be found on NPCA's Web site at: http://www.npca.org/media_center |