Chicago, Ill. – The nation’s leading voice for the national parks, the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) today praised the Department of the Interior announcement of the specific job-creating projects that will be completed in national parks, including trail repair, habitat restoration, and rehabilitation of historic buildings at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, as a result of the more than $900 million in stimulus funding provided by Congress.
“This reinvestment in our national parks is an important step toward revitalizing national parks for our children and grandchildren, while creating jobs today,” said National Parks Conservation Association Midwest Regional Director Lynn McClure. “This funding will allow the park to remove invasive species from the beach and protect nesting areas for the endangered piping plover.”
In December, the National Parks Conservation Association published Working Assets: Reinvesting in National Parks to Create Jobs and Protect America’s Heritage, a report which called on Congress and the Administration to include national parks in economic recovery legislation and offered examples of ready-to-go, job-creating infrastructure projects in national parks nationwide. The final bill passed by Congress in February included a measured investment of $900 million toward the Park Service’s massive, $9-billion backlog of critical maintenance and preservation projects.
“Park visitors will find the historic village of Glen Haven greatly improved through the use of stimulus funds,” McClure added. “Local businesses will benefit from investments in fixing historic boardwalks and renovating and repairing some of the structures so the village is more complete.”
Congress directed approximately $750 million toward national park infrastructure projects through the Department of the Interior; approximately $170 million is provided for national park road repair needs through the Department of Transportation.
An economic study commissioned by NPCA found that every federal dollar invested in national parks generates at least four dollars economic value to the public.
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