Budget proposal does not reflect Bush's promise to protect parks.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Bush administration's recently released fiscal year 2004 budget proposal for the National Park Service would boost funding by $117 million, but analysts say it falls well short of the president's repeated pledge to protect the parks.
"The administration is walking away from its commitment to the public and to our parks," said NPCA President Thomas C. Kiernan. "The president promised the American public that he would 'restore and renew' America's national parks, but this budget makes it clear that the administration does not intend to keep that promise."
During his presidential campaign, Bush announced a National Parks Legacy Project, which promised $4.9 billion over five years for national park upkeep. While recognizing the importance of funding park operations and the accumulated backlog of maintenance needs, the administration proposed only slightly better than a flat budget, NPCA officials said.
The operating budget of the National Park Service (NPS) would rise $66 million, to $1.63 billion. The overall proposal of $2.36 billion would pay for everything from the acquisition of new parkland to the expansion of a program placing volunteers in parks.
Individual budget proposal highlights, comparing enacted 2003 figures to the 2004 proposal, include:
- A $13 million decrease for national recreation and preservation.
- A $2 million decrease for the Historic Preservation Fund.
- A flat budget of $300,000 for the Urban Parks and Recreation Fund (which received $30 million in the enacted 2002 budget).
- A $8.5 million increase for the Natural Resource Challenge, a key program to expand the Park Service's science programs (last year's proposal called for an $18 million increase).
"This budget is a solid demonstration of [Bush's] commitment to preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources protected in these treasured places," said NPS Director Fran Mainella.
Some aspects of the budget proposal could prove inflated, NPCA officials said. For example, the attempt to launch a Cooperative Conservation Initiative, expanding opportunities for partner participation in natural resource protection, does little to boost park funding since Congress is unlikely to adopt it.
"The longer we make our national parks wait for critical operating funds, the greater the need becomes," Kiernan said. "Congress and the administration must work together to find the funds necessary to create a national parks legacy for future generations."
Extensive research in more than 50 parks demonstrates that, on average, parks operate with only two-thirds of the needed funding. As a result, they have fewer park rangers, plant and wildlife species are dwindling, important archaeological sites are not being protected, public education programs are being reduced, and irreplaceable historic structures are crumbling.
Americans for National Parks, a 320-member coalition led by NPCA, is working to increase the Park Service's operating budget by $600 million annually to protect park resources and the experiences of nearly 300 million visitors. For further information, visit www.americansfornationalparks.org.
