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Washington, D.C. – 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 Yellowstone, 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 14 projects in Yellowstone National Park, and an infusion of over 14 million dollars.  Yellowstone’s projects include important infrastructure improvements and work that will improve visitor experience.  The projects include replacing the Madison wastewater facility, repairing the roads along the south entrance and the historic south rim drive, and improving the boardwalks in the park’s thermal areas.

“In Yellowstone, where the maintenance backlog has been estimated at over $200 million, this infusion of resources is an exciting opportunity to help restore America’s first national park while bolstering our regional economy, “ said Danielle Blank, the National Parks Conservation Association’s Yellowstone Coordinator.  “Not only does it create jobs in the near term, but it bolsters Montana’s vital tourism industry which is anchored by our National Parks.”

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. With bipartisan support, 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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