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President’s
Budget Requests $2.6 Billion for National Park Service
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Innovative
Centennial Initiative Proposes Robust Investment in Parks
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Washington,
DC – March 2014 / Newsmaker Alert / President Obama’s budget request
for 2015 includes $2.6 billion for the critical conservation, preservation,
and recreation mission of the National Park
Service (NPS) as it approaches its 100th anniversary. The budget boosts
the Park Service’s essential programs and operational needs by $38.5 million
and adds $16.6 million for fixed cost increases.
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“As
we prepare for our centennial, the President’s budget request recognizes
the importance of investing in an historic effort to attract and host more
visitors, leverage additional private philanthropy for the parks, and help
build the institutional capacity to maintain the parks for the next 100
years,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “The budget
supports our core mission and proposes a comprehensive Centennial Initiative
to help preserve these treasured lands and icons for this and future generations.”
The
budget
proposal would provide targeted increases for the National Park Service
Centennial Initiative, a multi-year effort to support the preservation
of America’s natural, cultural and historic treasures, invest wisely in
the National Park System’s most important assets, expand the use of parks
for informal learning, engage volunteers, provide training opportunities
for youth, and enhance the NPS’ ability to leverage partnerships to accomplish
its mission. The budget request also includes a legislative proposal in
support of the initiative, providing $400 million in mandatory appropriations
annually for three years to fund partnership and deferred maintenance projects.
The
proposal comes on the heels of a report released yesterday that showed
that national parks across the country are important economic engines,
generating $26.75 billion in economic activity and supporting 243,000 jobs
in 2012.
The
Centennial Initiative includes $640 million through the discretionary budget,
a mandatory proposal, and the President’s Opportunity, Growth, and Security
Initiative.
The
NPS discretionary budget request includes $40 million:
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$30 million
for NPS operations to support youth engagement, to hire youth and veterans
at parks, repair facilities, and fully leverage the willingness of private
citizens to volunteer on public lands.
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$10 million
to provide the federal match for NPS Centennial Challenge projects and
programs at national parks to catalyze creative initiatives to improve
visitor services, support outreach to new audiences, and leverage partnerships
to reinvigorate the parks while forging connections with communities.
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The Centennial
Initiative includes legislative proposals for new, mandatory funding of
$400 million a year for three years to benefit NPS and other land management
agencies:
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$100 million
each year for three years in federal matching funds for NPS Centennial
Challenge projects and programs. This proposal will support signature projects
at many parks during the centennial year and into the NPS’ second century.
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$200 million
each year for three years for NPS to accomplish high-priority deferred
maintenance projects which will make a meaningful and lasting impact on
the NPS’ deferred maintenance backlog by restoring priority park assets
to good condition. These funds will ensure that parks can complete their
missions and serve visitors safely and effectively.
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NPS will
have the opportunity to compete for $100 million each year for three years
in project funding to meet conservation and maintenance needs through a
multi-agency Centennial Land Management Investment Fund. These funds broaden
the Centennial Initiative to provide an opportunity for all of Interior’s
public lands bureaus and the U.S. Forest Service to address deferred maintenance
and land conservation projects.
In addition,
the Centennial Initiative benefits from the Administration’s proposal for
a government-wide Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative:
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$100 million
is proposed for the competitive, multi-agency Centennial Land Management
Investment Fund; combined with the permanent proposal noted above, this
totals $200 million available to address deferred maintenance and land
conservation needs on public lands.
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$100 million
for NPS to complete high-priority deferred maintenance projects.
Overall,
the Centennial Initiative—including mandatory, discretionary, and Opportunity,
Growth, and Security Initiative resources—will allow NPS to ensure that
1,700 or 20 percent of the highest priority park assets are restored to
good condition. The effort creates thousands of jobs over three years,
provides over 10,000 work and training opportunities to young people, and
engages more than 265,000 volunteers in support of public lands.
Other
highlights in the President’s Budget for the National Park Service include:
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$2.3 billion
for national park operations, with a renewed focus on improving the condition
of facilities, enhancing the visitor experience, increasing capacity to
leverage volunteers, and supporting programs that foster youth engagement
in the great outdoors with partners in the 21st Century Conservation Service
Corps.
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$138.3
million for construction, an increase of $878,000, allowing the NPS to
address the highest priority projects critical to visitor and employee
health and safety and environmental restoration.
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$10 million
for the Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance program.
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$56.4
million for the Historic Preservation Fund, including $46.9 million for
grants-in-aid to States and Territories, $9 million for grants-in-aid to
Tribes, and $500,000 for competitive grants targeted toward communities
currently underrepresented in the National Register of Historic Places.
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Complementing
the budget request, the Administration’s proposal for a government-wide
Opportunity, Growth, and Security Initiative identifies an additional $6
million for the Historic Preservation Fund to support development of a
nationwide inventory of historic properties to help expedite federal permitting
and get infrastructure projects off the ground.
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$104 million
for federal land acquisition programs and the State Conservation grant
program, which is funded through the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF).
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Complimenting
this LWCF request is a legislative proposal to provide an additional $192.2
million in mandatory funds for NPS through the LWCF in 2015. This includes
$115.2 million for federal land acquisition, with $2.5 million for recreational
access projects and $5 million for American Battlefield Protection Program
land acquisition grants. The LWCF legislative proposal also includes $52
million for State Conservation grants and $25 million for Urban Parks and
Recreation Fund grants, which provide matching grants and technical assistance
to economically distressed urban communities in order to revitalize and
improve recreation opportunities.
As the
keeper of 401 national parks, 23 national scenic and national historic
trails, and 58 wild and scenic rivers, the National Park Service is charged
with preserving these lands and historic features for their cultural and
historic significance, scenic and environmental worth, and educational
and recreational opportunities. Additionally, National Park Service grant
and technical assistance programs help revitalize communities and expand
local recreation opportunities across the country.
An
overview of the Park Service's budget proposal can be found
here (PDF file).
About
the National Park Service
More
than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national
parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local
history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at
www.nps.gov,
on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice,
Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice,
and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.
Contacts:
National
Park Service
Jeffrey
Olson
Mike
Litterst
202-208-6843 |