Good news for national parks if economic recovery package passes

January 17, 3:45 PMNational Parks Recreation ExaminerRandi Minetor

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Narrows of Zion Canyon. Nic MInetor

When the House Democratic Leadership proposed its new economic recovery package on Thursday, it contained some of the best news our national parks have had in years:  $2.25 billion to move forward on “shovel-ready” projects that will address the enormous backlog of construction and restoration projects on the parks’ lengthy rosters.

Specifically, the proposal includes $1.7 billion for construction projects that have already been approved and are awaiting funding, as well as $100 million for the National Park Centennial Challenge—a public-private matching grant program—and $200 million for restoration of the ailing National Mall.

“This critically needed proposal, if passed by Congress and signed into law by President-Elect Obama, would bring immediate economic benefits—including approximately 50,000 jobs in rural and urban communities nationwide—and lay a strong foundation for restoring our imperiled national park heritage by 2016, the centennial of the National Park Service,” said Tom Kiernan, National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) president.

The proposal provides other benefits for the parks: $200 million for a range of national service programs, potentially including funds for the new National Park Service Corps suggested by the NPCA.  The parks also are likely to benefit from transportation projects that will repair roads and bridges.

At his confirmation hearing on Thursday, Interior Secretary-designate Ken Salazar told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee that he supported the inclusion of national parks in the economic recovery bill.  “If you take the national parks program, for example, we know there’s over $2.5 billion in initiatives and programs ready to go … and I hope to add those in our recovery packages,” he said.

Read NPCA’s report on job creation through investment in the national parks

More on recent projects funded by the Centennial Challenge

More on votes by Congress that strengthen our national parks