WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – America’s National Parks are places of beauty and history but they’re falling apart.
“Rangers in Yellowstone are staying in mobile trailers that are, in many cases, over 50 years old,” Marcia Argust with Pew Charitable Trusts said.
Argust said deteriorating historic buildings, crumbling roads and outdated sewer systems are just some of the items on the National Parks to-do list.
“The park service simply can’t keep up with repairs,” she said.
The price tag totals almost $12 billion in deferred maintenance.
At the Tidal Basin in Washington D.C., just steps away from the Thomas Jefferson and MLK memorials, the sea wall is 80 years old and floods onto the walkway a few times a day. It’s a $64 million fix that Congress can approve.
The bipartisan “Restore America’s Parks and Public Lands Act” would provide dedicated funding of nearly $6.5 billion dollars over five years to address the most important repairs.
North Carolina Congressman David Price said the investment in our nation’s parks is important to the country.
“It’s a unifying cause for the country. People love the parks and a lot of people help maintain the parks,” Price (D-NC) said. “So for the federal government to be a better partner with resources is really a cause for celebration.”
Price said there is support for the bill on Capitol Hill in both the House and the Senate. But a vote on the measure has yet to be scheduled.