NEWS RELEASES
Proposed Maintenance Budget For National Parks May Save Tax Dollars
Editor's Note: This news item was retrieved and first published through The National Park Service's website.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The National Park Service reports on a proposed budget for NPS operations in 2020, which includes funding that would help address the $11.9 billion maintenance backlog in the National Park System. "This [$2.7 billion] budget reflects President Trump’s commitment to protecting and rebuilding our national parks and public lands to ensure they may be enjoyed by future generations of Americans,” National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel , said in a press release.
The NPS estimates that in FY 2018 there was more than $11.9 billion in backlogged maintenance and repair needs for the more than 5,500 miles of paved roads, 17,000 miles of trails and 24,000 buildings that service national park visitors. The NPS retired more than $600 million in maintenance and repair work in FY 2018, but aging facilities, high visitation, and resource constraints have kept the maintenance backlog between $11 and $12 billion since 2010. The President’s budget provides $246.3 million to fund construction projects, equipment replacement, project planning and management, and special projects. This includes $152.7 million for specific line-item construction projects like rehabilitating the Eagle Lake Carriage road at Acadia National Park in Maine, and rehabilitating the Kennecott Leach Plant foundation at Wrangell-Saint Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska. It also includes $4.0 million for demolition and disposal of obsolete facilities, and another $4.0 million to implement safety and environmental mitigation or remediation of abandoned mines.
For further details on what will be involved in the budget expenses, click here.