Tucson, Ariz. – 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 all those in Arizona, as a result of the more than $900 million in stimulus funding provided by Congress.
“This important reinvestment in the crumbling infrastructure of our national parks is a step that will create jobs in large and small communities nationwide, and help to restore our nation’s heritage for our children and grandchildren,” said National Parks Conservation Association President Tom Kiernan. “There is much more to do to restore our national parks, but this is progress.”
The Department of the Interior’s list of infrastructure projects in 20 Arizona National Park Service units, such as Grand Canyon and Saguaro National Parks, includes more than $20 million for such essential upkeep as trail repairs, fixing historic structures, protecting the safety of drinking water, closing dangerous old mines, and long-overdue road maintenance.
“I can think of no better use of stimulus money than putting people to work in these very special areas where we celebrate our joint heritage, and where millions of people visit every year to experience the natural wonders of our state,” said Kevin Dahl, the National Parks Conservation Association’s Arizona program manager.
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. NPCA’s report highlighted the desperate need for adequate staff housing at Grand Canyon National Park – one of the projects this stimulus funding will address. 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.
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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