Open your paper in the next
few weeks, and you might see this headline: “Bush budget cuts end
911 coverage for Yosemite.”
The story underneath says an
official review of the National Park Service by a government agency
found that budget cuts and staff vacancies at Yosemite National
Park mean that visitors in life-threatening emergencies will get
busy signals or no answer when they call 911. A spokesman for an
advocacy group will express the outrage all Americans feel when
budget cuts endanger human safety, especially in places like
national parks that are so close to our hearts.
The
problem is that it won’t be true. Yosemite has been and always will
be covered by 911 operators and emergency services 24 hours a day,
seven days a week. In fact, the Park Service is improving 911
service at Yosemite by combining operations with two nearby park
units — exactly the type of efficient and effective
management Americans expect of their government. If past experience
is any indication, however, the inaccuracy of an accusation about
budget cuts at national parks won’t change the headlines. Americans
cherish our national parks so much that any report of neglect, no
matter how unfounded, immediately becomes newsworthy.
The
facts speak for themselves, however. In the past five years, the
administration has invested record-high levels of funding to
improve our parks. In fact, the total national park operations
budget increased by nearly $400 million, or 27 percent, from 2001
to 2006.
Since 2001, the Park Service has undertaken
projects to improve and upgrade nearly 6,000 facilities. Visitors
enjoy improved roads and trails, rehabilitated visitor centers,
more accessible campgrounds, and stabilized historic structures.
Meanwhile, the average amount of federal funding spent per visitor
to our national parks rose from $5.60 to $7.19, or 28 percent, from
2001 to 2006. Surveys show that 96 percent of visitors say they are
satisfied with the facilities, services, and recreational
opportunities at our parks. Can any business or organization match
such an outstanding satisfaction rate?
Critics find their
way around these facts by honing in on the budgets of individual
park units. It is true that some park units received funding
increases while others did not. As with any enterprise, Park
Service officials have to allocate funding based on a variety of
factors, such as where visitation is increasing or decreasing and
the need to rehabilitate aging facilities.
As good
managers, park superintendents are making some adjustments in how
they operate. Spending patterns shift as new challenges emerge in
law enforcement, icon protection, hurricane preparation, or removal
of invasive weeds.
Yet alarming anecdotes are passed on
even as they prove false. For example, one anecdote in a Government
Accountability Office report recounts that budget cuts have forced
Grand Teton National Park to cut the number of staff who pick up
litter and clean bathrooms. The truth is that the park has
reorganized its workforce, shifting to more seasonal employees
during peak visitation to ensure better overall service. Will that
stop the headline that says: “Budget cuts lead to dirty bathrooms
at Grand Teton?” Not if past experience is any indication.
Though media headlines may announce employment cuts, 9 of
12 parks reviewed in the GAO report increased the number of their
employees between 2001 and 2005.
From the Statue of
Liberty to the Grand Canyon, the 390 units of the National Park
System weave a tapestry of who we are as nation: our history, our
values, our culture, and the awesome beauty of our land. Americans
can be assured that we are taking good care of this great tapestry,
providing both the funding and the innovative management needed to
conserve and protect our most precious national treasures.
Lynn Scarlett is a contributor to Writers on the Range, a service of High Country News (hcn.org). She is the Acting Secretary of the Interior Department.
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