DOI Bill Has Inadequate Funding for Parks, Group Says; Park Service Won't Have Adequate Funding to Meet Visitor Needs, Protect Parks

10/31/2003

From: Andrea Keller of Americans for National Parks, 202-454-3332

WASHINGTON, Oct. 31 -- The Department of Interior spending bill that passed the Interior Appropriations conference committee this week falls short of the needs of the national parks and provides barely enough funding for most parks to cover mandatory cost-of-living increases for staff, according to Americans for National Parks.

"Yet again, the National Park Service won't have enough money to adequately protect our parks or meet the needs of visitors," said Americans for National Parks Campaign Director Blake Selzer. "We hope the administration and Congress will do a better job next year of fulfilling their responsibility to protect our national heritage."

While language in the House version of the Interior bill illustrated concern for the operating needs of the parks, the final bill included only a $55 million operating increase. This is slightly less than the increase the administration requested, less than the amount of money allocated in either the House or Senate versions of the bill, and far short of the $178 million increase sought by the Americans for National Parks campaign to address critical park needs.

This past spring, 69 representatives and 28 senators signed bipartisan letters to the appropriators requesting increased funding for the day-to-day needs of the national parks.

"Congress clearly recognizes the importance of funding the parks, but has not yet come through with the necessary dollars," said Selzer. "As a result, our national parks continue to suffer."

Research has shown that the national parks are operating with only two-thirds of the needed funding-an annual shortfall of more than $600 million. Across the system, museum artifacts and archaeological sites are not being preserved, public education programs are being cut, infrastructure is deteriorating, and irreplaceable historic structures are crumbling.

Led by the National Parks Conservation Association, the coalition of Americans for National Parks includes more than 350 private businesses, government municipalities, chambers of commerce, tourism and trade associations, and nonprofit organizations from across the country.