'Juggling act' at nation's parks is not funny

By Rita Beamish and Frank Bass

updated 9:27 a.m. ET June 20, 2006

An Associated Press series found that the national parks are facing unprecedented pressures. In Part II, park officials talk of the difficult juggling act when funds are short.

DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - Once portals that lured gold-seeking pioneers, the black holes that dot the sun-baked mountainsides of this California desert haunt J.T. Reynolds.

The Death Valley National Park superintendent fears tourists will tumble down the decrepit shafts or vanish into the rocky tunnels that abound in his park’s famed Gold Rush-era mines and ghost towns.

To completely “mine-safe” some 6,000 shafts and caves would take money that Reynolds does not have.

“Most visitors do not realize that park resources have been under threat from deterioration, vandalism, neglect and rot for some time,” Reynolds said. “We put up a good front and try to keep high visitor-use areas clean and neat. Even this facade is fading due to the lack of appropriate resources.”

Across the 390 parks, preserves and historic sites that make up the 90-year-old national park system, Reynolds’ colleagues face similar tough choices as growing costs from labor, utilities, maintenance, operations and preservation exceed wartime budgets from Washington.

For example:

• Alaska’s Denali National Park has cut campfire talks and ranger interpretation programs by 50 percent over five years.
• Four out of 10 historic buildings at Gettysburg’s hallowed battlefields in Pennsylvania and the neighboring Eisenhower National Historic Site are in poor or serious condition.
• 65 percent of park roads are in poor to fair condition.
• Campgrounds and visitor centers at Blue Ridge National Parkway opened a month late this year to save money.
• When winter rain visits Death Valley, the bucket comes out near the visitor center cash register. Before the leaky ceiling got a temporary patch job, a chunk of soggy ceiling landed on a woman paying her entrance fee.

Click for related content Live Votes: What to do about national parks? Maintenance backlog has increased over years Park rules reversed to prioritize conservation

Managing park money
Some parks have received $4.7 billion in long-awaited money from the Bush administration for decaying roads and structures that were on maintenance backlog lists for years.

But managers at many parks report they are losing substantial ground in maintaining and protecting their current resources while facing increased costs from homeland security, labor, energy and the crush of 270 million annual visitors.

Gerald Herbert / AP Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett

The Interior Department says it believes the parks have fared better than many federal agencies during a time of war and budget cutbacks.

“Our parks are in better shape than they were 10 years ago. We’ve completed over 6,000 maintenance projects,” said Deputy Interior Secretary Lynn Scarlett. “We’ve just about tripled the science money spent in parks.”

It’s not such a rosy picture at all parks.

Managers at Yosemite National Park in California said the operating budget is 32 percent short of park needs and bluntly described the impact in their latest business plan.

“If the park continues on its current vector, irreplaceable natural and cultural resources will be placed at risk: severely underfunded activities include maintaining historic architecture and controlling invasive plant and animal species,” the park managers wrote.

The future appears even more uncertain. President Bush wants the government to cover just 70 percent of the parks’ anticipated payroll and utility costs in 2007, down from 100 percent this year.

That has left parks scrambling for alternate sources of money, such as charitable donations.

Relying more on charity, fees
Philanthropic groups spent more than $60 million on parks last year, doubling their largesse of a decade ago, said Curt Buchholtz, president of the National Parks Friends Alliance. Such donations helped pay for enhancements such as the $13.5 million Yosemite Falls entrance.

But generosity in the tens of millions of dollars is not a panacea when billions are ultimately needed.

“The frustration we have is we are in a budgetary decline and it’s harder to do operations in the field, and philanthropy is not going to be the answer to that,” said Jon Jarvis, the Park Service’s Pacific West regional director.

Many parks have raised fees or are considering increases at their entry gates, campsites and boat ramps.

This year, 21 of the 147 parks that charge fees raised their rates an average of $1 per person and $5 per car.

Park supervisors appreciate the recent money to clear backlogs. Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas received a $90,000 boost in 2005 that pulled the park operating budget out of the red, and money for 12 roofs plus work on chimneys, walkways and a security alarm system.

“The park’s in much better shape than it was six years ago,” superintendent John Daugherty said.

Print this Email this Blog this  IM this

MORE FROM ENVIRONMENT

Environment Section Front

U.S.: No funds to run pesticide survey Alaska to challenge polar bear listing Honda hybrids may be nightmare for Detroit Harrison Ford gets waxed to help climate Bay Area businesses to pay CO2 fee Bush officials cited as possibly meddling Aussies lose devils, heavy on kangaroos Whales die after Senegal stranding Greenpeace: Game consoles a toxic brew Biodiesel pirates stealing used cooking oil Environment Section Front   Add Environment headlines to your news reader: