WHAT WE DO

   The shortage of staff in the national parks is a severe and growing problem. Unless immediate action is taken to stem the tide, our parks will not have the staff necessary to ensure that these places that represent our national heritage are enjoyed by visitors this summer and protected in perpetuity. NPCA recommends:

• Congress and the administration must provide the annual operating funds needed to staff and protect the national parks. NPCA and the nonpartisan coalition of Americans for National Parks, which includes more than 350 chambers of commerce, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and tourism and trade associations, are seeking an increase of $240 million in the fiscal year 2005 budget to address the parks' annual shortfall, estimated to be in excess of $600 million.
  
  
• The National Park Service should receive at least $50 million this year from the Department of Homeland Security to offset the Park Service's homeland security-related expenses, including the protection of key assets and operational security at icon parks, radio upgrades, temporary relocation of staff on detail during Code Orange, and the maintenance of a service-wide incident management analysis and reporting system. All of these costs currently deplete the limited operating budget, and even this amount may not fully meet the need in the current and coming years.
  
  
• Congress should reject the administration's proposed budget caps for discretionary domestic spending, which is estimated to reduce funding for national park operations, construction, and maintenance by more than $800 million over five years. We should invest in our national heritage, not reduce further the amount of money available to preserve it.
  
  
• The National Park Service must continue to give priority to the training and hiring of personnel for management effectiveness. Measures must be taken to ensure that park managers have the tools needed to make the most effective choices about where to put their limited financial and human resources in current and coming years. All of the sites within the National Park System should complete and implement a business plan to help guide these decisions. The administration's new Facility Condition Index (FCI), which assesses the condition of historic structures and park buildings throughout the park system, should be viewed as a means of prioritizing park maintenance projects and identifying the level of annual funding required to maintain structures. However, the FCI will only meet its potential if additional funding is made available.
  
  
• The National Park Service's renewed focus on volunteerism must be coupled with reasonable measures to ensure that park staff and funding exists to support volunteer time and labor.