On March 1, 1872, President Ulysses S. Grant signed documents officially establishing Yellowstone as Americas first national park. Forty-four years later, President Wilson created the National Park Service to manage our countrys wild places. Today, the National Park System includes 391 locations covering almost 90 million acres. National Park Service director Mary Bomar manages 20,000 permanent, seasonal and temporary employees and an operating budget of almost $2 billion.
Like the National Forest Services Smokey Bear character, the image of a national park ranger wearing a distinctive, flat-brimmed hat, and standing by ready to answer questions and protect the environment, is a quintessential American icon. With our society in a great period of change, do Americans still hold the national parks in such high regard?
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne believes the answer is emphatically yes. “However, we have a growing population and I dont know if we are seeing visitations commensurate with that growing population,” he says. “Everybody realizes and affirms that our national parks are crown jewels, but I think that both within government and the private sector, we need to encourage people to physically visit our national parks. When they do, there is an absolutely enthusiastic response. Once you have been to one you want to see more. The key is that initial visit. Part of our responsibility as the current stewards is to do a tremendous job so people can get a sense of inspiration from the parks.”
Kempthorne points out that in many industry reports, participation in outdoor recreation activities is flat or declining. He is equally concerned over statistics compiled by the Centers for Disease Control that show an upswing in chronic illnesses such as adult onset diabetes and high blood pressure. He believes the national parks can have a role in turning around the trends in both areas.
“Americans are not as healthy today as they have been in the past,” Kempthorne says, “even to the point that there is a suggestion that a baby born today may have a shorter life expectancy than the current adult population. Part of the solution is getting people up and moving in the direction of the natural parks and the wonders of nature. We will all be better off for it.”
Bomar concurs, adding, “We have to get kids and families back into the parks. Each year, approximately 13 million people stay overnight in campsites in a national park. They are coming out, but we have a lot to do in that arena.”
Craig Obey, National Parks Conservation Association VP for government affairs, observes, “We clearly have issues with participation. The question is, ultimately, what will that mean for the support of these places? That support is still there right now, but we need to make sure we continue that. We are becoming a much more diverse country with people who value, or can value, the parks, but may not have as much of a family history in the parks. Weve got to capture their hearts and minds.”
Skinny Skis, in Jackson, WY, is located less than one mile from the southernmost entrance of Grand Teton National Park. Yellowstone is also nearby. Owner Phil Leeds reports that visitation at these parks has remained steady, but he also sees cause for concern.
“The numbers seem to have increased every year modestly, but utilization of the backcountry has dropped a lot,” Leeds notes. “Thats something that has been the bugaboo of the outdoor industry for 10 to 20 years. The rangers say they see the [backcountry] numbers drop off as people focus on day hikes and climbs. Some of the more remote parts of the park are seeing less use than they did 10 to 20 years ago.”
Leeds hopes to see political leaders pay more attention to the parks. “Politically, there is a lot more that can be done. We need more leadership in Washington, DC, or statewide that shows that our elected officials cherish wild places. If you saw people like Bush, McCain, Clinton or Obama going into the wild places, it wouldnt hurt,” he says.
While we may not see a presidential candidate in the backcountry anytime soon, the plight of the national parks is generating bi-partisan political attention. With the National Park Services 100th anniversary coming in 2016, a coalition of government agencies, nonprofit organizations and private companies is creating a plan to return the parks to prime condition, again living up to their heritage of being called, “Americas Crown Jewels.”
The plan comes none too soon. The National Park Service faces challenges beyond near-annual forest fires. Decades of budget shortfalls have led to a steep decline in the maintenance of park facilities and have left fewer rangers and other professional staff who, in 2007, greeted 275 million-plus visitors.
Birth of a plan
On August 25, 2006, National Parks Founders Day, President Bush asked Secretary of the Interior Kempthorne to create a strategic plan to address the parks shortcomings. Over the following several months, the Department of the Interior held a series of 44 listening sessions around the United States to learn what the public, as well as park employees, wanted to see as part of the centennial celebration.
Kempthorne summarizes the major themes that came out of the outreach sessions. “We heard absolute affirmation of enthusiastic advocacy for the parks,” he says. “It was rewarding. They appreciated that people from Washington, DC, came out to hear their suggestions. It was not unusual that most testimony began with their own experiences, either as a child or family, and what the parks mean to them.”
Bomar adds, “The public wants to keep the parks pristine. They want to get kids involved and be good stewards. People want to make sure we preserve the parks for future generations.”
The political process
On May 31, 2007, Kempthorne responded to President Bushs request for a plan to preserve the park systems integrity for the next 100 years by presenting “The Future of Americas National Parks” proposal.
The plan, endorsed by the President as the Centennial Initiative, includes three major strategies to deliver as much as $3 billion in added financial support to the National Park Service in the next decade.
First, the initiative calls for the commitment of $1 billion, in 10 annual appropriations of $100 million, earmarked for operational increases to restore and improve park programs, facilities and staffing.
Next, the Centennial Challenge calls for another $1 billion, also in 10 annual appropriations of $100 million, to match philanthropic support for signature projects and programs. The final component calls for $1 billion in matching philanthropic contributions for park projects and programs.
The NPCA supports the creation and strategic direction of the Initiative.
“The operating budget is short about $800 million on an annual basis,” notes Obey. “The maintenance backlog is roughly $8 billion now. We [NPCA] focused on operations first. If you look across park budgets, every single national park unit, almost without exception, has significant fiscal challenges that impact its ability to protect resources and serve visitors. When you are talking about making sure the American public is continually re-engaged with the parks, one of the most powerful tools we have is the park ranger. Countless people will tell stories about how a park ranger opened their eyes.”
The first steps to correct the National Park Services shortfalls began in FY 2008. As Kempthorne points out, “In 2008, we received $25 million from Congress that was matched by an equal amount from the private sector. We have $50 million worth of projects and programs that will take place in the parks over and above the existing budgets. That $25 million represents an endorsement by a bi-partisan Congress that they support this concept. Its their first down payment. We are asking in 09 that we go to the full $100 million per year through 2016.”
Any concern about the business communitys interest in contributing to the park was unfounded. Kempthorne explains, “In addition to the $25 million, we had an additional $175 million from the private sector that was ready to match the federal government. It was a tremendous example of partnership but the federal government left some money on the table by not having a match when the private sector said, We are ready to go.”
Kempthorne is quick to point out that the additional funds are earmarked for new programs rather than remedial needs. “We have, in the 08 budget, $1 billion that is taking care of normal cyclical construction and maintenance projects. Those are responsibilities that the government has. Well take care of that. This is above and beyond,” he says.
Kempthorne applauds the Bush administrations commitment to long-term funding. “The operating side of the budget in FY 08 is the largest and best appropriation the National Park Service has ever received in its lifetime. Thats only surpassed by the Presidents FY 09 request that will be even better. Its a dramatic attention to resources to bring the parks back to their full splendor.”
There have been two previous periods in American history when the neglected national park system received top priority from the government and the public. First, from 1933 to 1941, the Civil Conservation Corp built many of the existing park structures and trails. The second instance occurred during the Eisenhower administration. Ten years before the Park Services 50th anniversary, “Mission 66” was launched. The $1 billion program added 78 new park units and the construction of 100 new visitors centers.
Obey notes, “One of the things people did, halfway through the past century, was to realize that the parks at that time needed an additional infusion of resources and they tried to be creative about it. The challenge we have is that we have a system thats been successful for nearly 100 years. Were at a point where we need to look at how it will be successful for the next 100.” He adds, “How do we ensure that it remains vibrant and refocus on the fact that it wont remain that way unless we provide the necessary funding?”
Words into action
On April 3, 2008, The National Park Centennial Fund Act was introduced by United States Senators Ken Salazar (D-CO), Susan Collins (R-ME), Max Baucus (D-MT), and Norm Coleman (R-MN) to fund and manage the signature projects mandated in the initiatives mission.
The Salazar-Collins-Baucus-Coleman bill calls for $100 million in mandatory spending for each of the fiscal years from 2008 to 2017 to complete approved projects throughout the national park system. Funding for the Centennial Fund Act will come from a new conservation royalty from unanticipated offshore oil and gas revenues.
The matching funds element is the centerpiece of the Centennial Initiative. If enacted, the federal government will match private contributions dollar-for-dollar up to $100 million annually until 2016. The Secretarys call for proposals for FY 08 was met with an enthusiastic response.
Through an extensive four-step review process, the National Park Service has certified 201 proposals that cover 116 parks in 40 states and the District of Columbia. The Centennial Fund Act requires that project partnership proposals fall into one of seven categories: education, diversity, supporting park professionals, environmental leadership, natural resource protection, cultural resource protection, visitor enjoyment and health, and construction.
In addition, the review process evaluated the proposals based on their ability to contribute toward a stated centennial goal; address a high priority need; have a partner; improve the efficiency and effectiveness of park management; show imagination, innovation and collaboration; benefit multiple parks; and show results.
The 201 qualified proposals represent a total investment of $369.9 million-$215.9 million from partners, and $154 million in federal funds. by the end of this April, the National Park Service plans to announce which proposals will be accepted.
Kempthorne is enthusiastic about the impact of the first round of centennial partnerships. “This begins a celebration of a centennial of our national parks in 2016,” he remarks. “We dont celebrate by simply rolling out a master plan of what ought to be. We will demonstrate that we rolled up our sleeves and we accomplished what is. Thats the objective.”
A Lasting Legacy
As visitors to the national parks today use the facilities first constructed in the 1930s, the work planned for the Centennial Initiative will have a long-lasting impact.
However, this will be no small task. “You dont dig a multi-billion-dollar fiscal hole overnight. It takes years, and it takes years to dig out of that,” Obey says. “With the launch of the Centennial Initiative program, and through significant efforts by the administration and the House and Senate, people came together and said, Yes, this is a need. The key will be sustaining that in the coming year, and years after that. Sustaining anything for a decade is a challenge, but weve got plenty of groundwork laid.”
Looking ahead, Bomar says, “I hope we leave a system that is worthy of praise, and that my grandchildren and great-grandchildren can experience the parks as I did when I was a child. I hope they can see the same scenes in the Grand Canyon that I saw.”
Kempthorne describes a childhood memory and the influence it has had on his own legacy.
“I was 10 years old when my mother and father took me to Yellowstone National Park. I remember so distinctly Old Faithful and the pungent odor of the sulfur in the hot water,” he relates. “To now be in the position to have the honor to be one of these guardians of the national parks, and to partner with other citizens to provide stewardship, thats a pretty good life. If I can make some small contribution, thats just payback for having such great memories as a child. My greatest hope is they will look back and say that the people at the turn of the 21st century were good stewards. Its our turn.”
