Budget cuts whittle away at national park system

May 28, 1996
Web posted at: 7:45 a.m. EDT

From Correspondent Mary Ann McRae

PORT WASHINGTON, New York (CNN) -- Each year the number of visitors to the national parks increases. But the U.S. Park Service budget isn't keeping pace with demand, forcing cutbacks in programs.

About 270 million people are expected to visit the national parks this year, and rangers say they will feel the impact of the budget constraints.

"Trash pickups -- they'll notice that whenever they're visiting," said Roger Rector of the Delaware Water Gap. "Maybe not as often that we'll clean the restrooms. Not as many interpretive activities."

Special guided tours are likely to be cut back as belt- tightening means fewer rangers and guides at many parks, including Philadelphia's Independence Hall.

"We got into this situation because everybody likes ribbon cuttings, and nobody likes painting the walls and fixing the roof," said Roger Kennedy, director of the National Park Service.

Congress gave the National Park Service a 1 percent increase in its 1996 operating budget. But factor in inflation and increasing costs, park rangers say, and their budgets are flat.

"We have to cut back somewhere. And some of those things that we cut back on are not so noticeable. But, in a few years, we're really going to feel an impact if we don't start taking care of some of those right away," Rector said. (133K AIFF or WAV sound)

Reaching out

At the Delaware Water Gap, which hosts nearly 5 million visitors a year, winter flood damage to some beaches and trails is unrepaired.

And while previously allocated funds enable construction of a new boathouse, there's no money to staff it.

Rangers at the Delaware Water Gap have joined hands with a non-profit educational group to try to make up for nature tours lost because of strained budgets.

"We have a classroom that consists of a quarter of a million acres," said John Padalino of the Pocono Environmental Education Center.

To keep the ranger services funded, some in Congress have proposed increasing the admissions fees, while others have called for privatizing the parks.

But whatever the ultimate solution, rangers say something must be done to keep up with ever-increasing visitor demands on the national park system and its natural wonders.

Related site:

• National Parks Service

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