Park Service Is a Winner in Budget
Plenty of Democrats, Republicans, and interested third parties have found much in the president's proposed budget to criticize, but there is at least one idea that's receiving warm reviews: a boost in spending for the National Park Service.
The addition of $258 million to NPS annual operations– a 14.5 percent increase–has some longtime critics singing Bush's praises, including the park system's strongest nongovernmental ally, the National Parks Conservation Association, which is currently suing the administration for failing to enforce or implement some rules regarding off-road vehicles on parkland. Ron Tipton, the group's senior vice president of programs, hails the White House's push. Bush also wants to add $100 million for the NPS Centennial Initiative and up to another $100 million in funds that would match private donations.
The increases would allow for infrastructure upgrades and the addition of 500 full-time employees and 3,000 part-time employees.
"As the number of rangers has declined, the power to manage resources has diminished," Tipton says. "If Congress passes this in some form, this is a great statement on behalf of restoring and preserving our national parks."
The proposal smacks of a legacy consideration – the money will assist in a major upgrade for the park system's 100th anniversary in 2016 – but insiders say much of the credit goes to Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, who aggressively lobbied the White House for funds. An aide to Democratic Rep. Norm Dicks, who chairs the appropriations subcommittee that funds the park service, tells U.S. News that Dicks personally called Kempthorne to offer his appreciation.
The aide describes the two as friends since the days Kempthorne served in Congress. Dicks "was optimistic" about the budget proposal, the aide says, "but it took some heavy lifting by Kempthorne. In the six previous years of this administration we haven't seen that accomplished."
Still, controversial elements remain: The NPCA estimates that the park service needs as much as $800 million annually – a highly improbable sum to pass Congress–and Bush's proposal to match up to $100 million of private donations would require not just appropriations but passage of a new law.
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