Overcrowded parks, questionable fee collection systems, and safety issues for both members of the public and employees are among the key issues the Office of Inspector General has highlighted as challenges facing the Interior Department as it manages the National Park System.
Those and several other issues were cited as the OIG filed its required overview of the most significant management and performance challenges facing Interior.
While the report addressed all bureaus under the department, issues confronting the National Park Service included:
* "Growth in special park uses and commercial services makes risk management more complex. Increased tourism also raises safety concerns, especially in remote regions of the parks, during inclement weather, or regarding visitor contact with wild animals. These factorschallenge the DOI to manage risk, promote safety, and accommodate increased demands on its budget and staffing."
* Unspecified issues with fee collection, other than that "(T)he DOI is challenged to find innovative fee collection techniques."
* Challenges in managing its nearly 500 concessions contracts.
The NPS issues contracts for services in parks (typically lodging, food, and retail services); in 2016, the NPS managed 488 concession contracts, with gross revenues of about $1.4 billion the prior year. In a 2017 report, the GAO identified ongoing challenges with the NPS’ management of concessions services at national parks. The GAO highlighted three management challenges: (1) inadequate qualifications and training of concessions staff, (2) a backlog of expired contracts that were extended, and (3) insufficient accountability in the concessions program.
* "The DOI has been challenged with deferred maintenance and repair of facilities and other infrastructure for years with little to no improvement. Maintenance funding has not kept pace with bureau needs for some years, resulting in increasing deferred maintenance."
In April 2017, the Congressional Research Service reported that three DOI bureaus (the NPS, the FWS, and the BLM) had a combined total deferred maintenance estimate for FY 2016 of $13.1 billion—specifically, a $10.9 billion backlog for the NPS, a $1.4 billion backlog for the FWS, and a $0.8 billion backlog for the BLM. The DOI’s proposed FY 2018 budget is $11.7 billion. If all of the proposed funding were used only for deferred maintenance for the NPS, the FWS, and the BLM, it would still not be enough to clear the backlog of deferred maintenance and asset repair at these three bureaus.
* The DOI continues to face challenges ... in holding all of its employees, including senior officials, to the highest standards of ethical conduct; ensuring that the consequences of wrongdoing are clearly understood; taking decisive actions to address unacceptable behavior; and providing relevant ethics training to all employees.
