President Bush and Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne are committed to caring for our National Parks and protecting them for the enjoyment of Americans now and into the future. Tremendous headway has been made in addressing the Park's deferred maintenance backlog. The President is meeting his commitment to invest $4.9 billion to meet this challenge. President Bush has committed a total of $2.875 billion toward reducing the National Park Service maintenance backlog over the past three years; the FY 2005 budget requests an additional $1.1 billion, bringing the total investment to $3.9 billion.
This investment translates into results. In the past three years, the dedicated employees of the National Park Service have undertaken more than 4,000 infrastructure and facility improvement projects to improve trails, provide more accessible campgrounds, rehabilitate visitor centers, improve roads and parking lots, stabilize historic structures, and reduce environmental threats through better sewer and drinking water systems. In addition, for the first time in history, the NPS has conducted and completed a condition assessment on all of our National Parks. To help meet the goal of eliminating the maintenance backlog, the NPS has a facility condition index to help prioritize ongoing maintenance needs to ensure that backlogs do not reoccur and ensure the best use of taxpayers dollars.
The Department of Interior through the National Park Service is working hard to restore facilities, improve landscape health, enhance visitor opportunities, and inspire volunteers to join in preserving these wonderful places.
Comment and learn about the review of our NPS policy guidance.
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