How best to pay for national parks' upkeep
David Bernhardt, confirmed in April as secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, has the diagnosis right when it comes to what’s ailing the National Park Service: a running $12 billion backlog of maintenance that threatens safety, enjoyment and the environment of our national parks.
His prescription, so far, is difficult to read.
Bernhardt in a recent address to senior park service officials decried the neglect. “Our parks are literally crumbling,” reported Yahoo News’ Alexander Nazaryan, noting a possible shift in message for the Interior chief from his earlier endorsement of drastic cuts to national parks funding in President Trump’s budget; cuts that Congress, thankfully, rejected.
Congress, however, has yet to adopt a solution to the maintenance backlog that is estimated between $11 billion and $12 billion. There is some skepticism, as pointed out in Nazaryan’s report, regarding the amount. A good half of that figure would go toward maintenance of the roads, highways, bridges and related infrastructure, through and along the national parks. But those roads are necessary to get people to the parks. And the estimate has been long accepted as accurate, and it’s the figure Congress has worked with when it’s discussed possible funding solutions.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/editorial-how-best-to-pay-for-national-parks-upkeep/