This Land, Your Land

A report released by the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association today says that, for the second year in a row, the likely erosion of necessary funding for America’s national parks will harm the parks, visitors, and surrounding communities and businesses.

If Congress' Super Committee fails to craft a debt-reduction deal that passes Congress, mandatory across-the-board budget cuts will have a drastic impact on national parks, which the report says are "at the tipping point."

"In the past two years, park visitation has been higher than it has been in a decade — yet national parks suffer from an annual operations shortfall of $500-$600 million, and receive $325 million less per year than necessary to keep an $11 billion maintenance backlog from getting worse," the NCPA says in a news release about “Made in America: Investing in National Parks for Our Heritage and Our Economy” (large .pdf file).

"Further cuts could mean fewer rangers to greet visitors, reduced visitor center hours, shortened campground seasons, closure of entrance stations and backcountry trails, fewer educational programs, and reduced law enforcement patrols to safeguard America’s heritage."

Across-the-board discretionary cuts of 9 percent that are to go into effect if the Super Committee fails would take about $231 million from the national parks budget, the NCPA says. "This would unquestionably be devastating for many national parks, visitors, and the communities and businesses that depend on them," the group adds.

A recent NPCA study found that every federal dollar invested in national parks generates at least four dollars of economic value to the public.

Among 10 case studies of parks, the 54-page report says a 10 percent cut to the Blue Ridge Parkway budget would "almost certainly mean the layoff of some permanent employees and the elimination of seasonal hires altogether, resulting in the closure of some of the Parkway’s facilities." With even a 5 percent cut, "the Parkway would likely have to shorten hours at its visitor centers and possibly close some."

One way park managers make ends meet is by turning to volunteers for help. At Great Smoky Mountains National Park, the most visited national park in the system, the park has generated $2.48 million worth of work from volunteers for "a hefty return on the investment in salaries for two volunteer coordinators. Yet volunteer coordination activities are often among the first functions to be sacrificed when a park hits tight budget times — those staffers are often reassigned to more pressing duties."

Parks also have depended on entrance and recreational fees, and private philanthropy and partnerships with businesses to stretch their budgets.

"But not all parks charge fees, and smaller parks often are unable to collect significant sums even when they do charge fees," the report concludes. "While the vast majority of Americans are happy to contribute to the upkeep of their parks, there is a question as to whether taxpayers should have to pay twice to visit the lands they own — once with their taxes and once at the gate."