WHAT WE DO

The weather was brutal in 2004. At Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area, summer storms flooded the Kittatinny Point Visitor Center and washed out roads and trails. Hurricane Charley caused extensive damage to Dry Tortugas National Park in August. Heavy storms in Virginia and North Carolina, brought on by hurricanes Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, caused landslides that closed portions of the 470-mile Blue Ridge Parkway - impacting visitation.

The hurricanes also caused nearly $3 million in damages to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, including $1.3 million in trail repairs. Hurricane Ivan caused $30 million in damages at Gulf Islands National Seashore in Florida and Mississippi-washing out several miles of roads, flooding historic buildings, a visitor center, and parking lots, and destroying pavilions. Today, road repairs are under way and the Park Service is restoring the visitor center in anticipation of reopening in summer 2005.

It can't happen soon enough. The Park Service struggles to ensure that facilities are repaired quickly to continue welcoming visitors. During the summer of 2004, severe storms flooded parts of Death Valley National Park in California, killing two people and destroying restrooms as well as the primary highway used to enter the park. Through the heroic efforts of local, state, and federal agencies, the majority of the park was reopened and operational in less than three months. However, because of flooding damage and insufficient resources for repairs, popular visitor attractions, including parts of the scenic roads Artist's Drive and Titus Canyon, will remain closed through early spring 2005.

In addition to infrastructure damage, storms can wipe out fragile habitat for protected species, damage that is not easy to put a price tag on. Hurricanes Frances and Jeanne wiped out nearly 1,400 sea turtle nests at Florida's Canaveral National Seashore (one of the few beaches in the eastern United States where the turtles can safely lay eggs), and affected fragile dunes that are home to several endangered species such as the gopher tortoise. Additionally, the Park Service removed hundreds of dead oceanic birds from the 24-mile beach at Canaveral National Seashore.

Costly Damages

Damage caused by such storms raises concerns about whether national parks have adequate funding and staffing to prepare for and recover from weather emergencies.

The Park Service's fiscal year 2004 budget included only $3 million to address emergency needs in the parks, and most of this funding had already been spent when the first of four hurricanes hit the Florida coastline. In total, the hurricanes damaged 26 national parks in eight states. The Park Service estimates that 2004 storm damages exceeded $50 million system-wide.

Fortunately, emergency hurricane relief funding requested by the administration and approved by Congress provided $48.9 million for cleanup and repairs in affected areas of the National Park System. Construction monies in the fiscal year 2005 budget will be used to augment this funding so that the parks can quickly repair damaged facilities.

But in 2003, Hurricane Isabel caused nearly $100 million in damages at several national parks, including flooding a basement full of artifacts at Colonial National Historical Park in Virginia. Insufficient funding was available to assist battered parks in making repairs, so the Park Service was forced to reallocate other limited funds.

Key Recommendation: Reimburse Parks for Storm Repairs

Congress and the administration appropriately addressed many of the needs of damaged parks in 2004. But the Park Service must be consistently reimbursed for necessary repairs resulting from the frequent acts of nature that besiege our parks. Indeed, several parks suffering storm damage during the seasons prior to 2004 have not received sufficient reimbursement. In this case, storms drown the parks and their budgets. Park managers are left scrambling for years to find adequate funding for repairs and visitors are not adequately served.

Take Action

• Send a letter >> to your members of Congress to increase funding in fiscal year 2006 for the annual operating needs of the national parks.
• Volunteer >> National parks need a lot of help to prepare for and recover from big storms. Volunteers can help to clean up debris, restore trails, and rebuild and repaint buildings. 

NEXT >>