Jackson, Wyo. – 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 Grand Teton National Park, 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 National Park Service infrastructure projects includes Grand Teton National Park. Grand Teton will receive $18.8 million in economic stimulus money. These funds will be used to demolish and replace unsafe maintenance structure in the Colter Bay area, rehabilitate the Lower Granite Canyon trail, and rehabilitate the maintenance building at Moose. In addition, the John D. Rockefeller, Jr. Memorial Parkway received $83,000, which will cover demolition of a structure and stabilization of an eroding slope at Flagg Ranch.
“Funding for Grand Teton’s aging infrastructure and $131-million maintenance backlog is long overdue. This vital infusion of funds represents a valuable investment in park in the park’s future, and will ultimately enhance the park’s ability to manage resources and provide for visitor services,” said National Parks Conservation Association Grand Teton Program Manager Sharon Mader.
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.
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. This is critically important for Jackson Hole, whose economic health is closely tied to park-related tourism.
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