Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 30, 1995 TAG: 9507280009
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: F-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: L.W. "BILL" LANE JR.
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
The House and Senate budget resolutions would reduce National Park Service funding to operate the parks by 10 percent from this year's levels and freeze it for the next six years with no increases for inflation. In the seventh year, this cut would be nearly a 30 percent reduction from current park-operation funding levels.
These reductions - and other proposals harmful to the parks - dilute three GOP policy goals (which most Democrats also support): to strengthen American values, to provide for our children's future and to spur economic growth.
National parks teach American values.
From Independence Hall to the Jefferson Memorial, from Gettysburg to Martin Luther King's birthplace, from Mesa Verde to the Statue of Liberty, no better places exist to rediscover what it means to be an American and why our nation is the greatest on Earth. National parks collectively embody the best of America, unite us as a people and renew our national pride. They also inspire millions of foreign visitors to embrace American values.
National parks are essential to our children's future.
In 1864, Abraham Lincoln signed legislation preserving what would become Yosemite National Park "inalienable for all time." Since then, virtually every president and Congress - Republican and Democratic - has set aside or enhanced areas vital to our natural, cultural and historical heritage. They fulfilled a bipartisan commitment preserving the best of America for our children's enjoyment, education and enlightenment.
Now is not the time to tear up this 130-year-old "contract" - a legacy for all Americans. National parks provide our children an unparalleled opportunity to learn about their heritage and enrich their lives. They also provide our children with natural areas preserved as they were centuries, even millennia, ago - a function more critical than ever.
National parks are a massive source of income for the economy.
Collectively, they are the top tourist destination in America, surpassing all amusement and theme parks combined. Analyzing only visitors' food and lodging expenditures, the Park Service conservatively estimates that national parks generate more than $10 billion for local communities - at a minimal investment of $1.5 billion, just 0.66 percent of the entire U.S. budget.
Individual parks mean the world to their communities. Last year, Mount Rainier National Park in Washington state generated $194 million in visitor sales and created 5,809 jobs for nearby residents. Others have similar benefits: Crater Lake National Park (Oregon), $25 million and 250 jobs; Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (Georgia), $32 million and 958 jobs; Great Smoky Mountains National Park (Tennessee and North Carolina), $690 million and 10,338 jobs.
Unfortunately, the proposed cuts could have several potentially harmful effects: severe reductions in the parks' all-important educational functions; further deterioration of park facilities; cuts in hours and days open; and possible closures of entire parks.
Indeed, some members of Congress have suggested that, as with military bases, Congress should create a park-closure commission. This analogy is seriously flawed: The end of the Cold War reduced the likelihood of a global superpower military crisis - but America's values crisis only increases the need for our national parks. The Grand Canyon and Everglades cannot be combined for "greater efficiency." Our national parks represent the values that courageous Americans have died for since our country was founded.
Balancing the budget requires shared sacrifice, and the National Park Service is no exception. The American people deserve the best professional management and accountability. There are also ways to increase revenues to directly support national parks. By creatively pursuing these objectives, Congress can fulfill our contract with future generations without undermining a balanced budget.
Congress should:
Earmark park commercial use and visitor fees for the Park Service, rather than the general treasury.
Authorize visitor-fee increases without making them unaffordable to American families. According to a poll released by the National Parks and Conservation Association, 79 percent of Americans support an increase in entry fees - if the revenues go to the parks.
Direct reforms of park-concession management to ensure competitive contracting and generate additional revenues.
Approve innovative public-private partnerships - a tenet of the Contract With America - to manage the Presidio (in Golden Gate National Recreation Area) and the proposed Tallgrass Prairie National Preserve. These two units help round out the Park System.
Fully implement the Vail Agenda reforms, the Park Service's 75th anniversary bipartisan symposium, which I helped draft, to maximize efficient and entrepreneurial management.
Eighty years ago, Stephen T. Mather, who became first director of the National Park Service, described our national parks as "an empire of grandeur and beauty ... the most inspiring playgrounds and the best-equipped nature schools in the world ... an economic asset of incalculable value." Let this be as true 80 years from today as it was then.
L.W. "Bill" Lane Jr., long active in national-parks issues, was ambassador to Australia in the Reagan administration and is former publisher of Sunset magazine.
by CNB