Though the National Park Service is saddled with roughly $12 billion in backlogged maintenance work, untold millions more to be spent on invading species that are wreaking havoc on some park ecosystems, and some parks still recovering from 2017 hurricanes, the House of Representatives has agreed to just a slight funding increase for the agency's Fiscal 2020 operations budget.

The hefty (more than 2,300 pages) budget package, which the Senate is expected to adopt and send to President Trump before midnight Saturday, when current funding will run out, also opens up Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument on the Arizona-Mexico border to more degradation from the likelihood of additional border wall construction.

“While we commend House leadership for the increased investment in our park system, Congress is falling short on its commitment to protect all of our national parks for the enjoyment of future generations," said Theresa Pierno, CEO and president of the National Parks Conservation Association, in reviewing the appropriations.

"Approving these spending bills permits the continued destruction of Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, releasing bulldozers to scrape the landscape bare, plow down the park’s iconic saguaro cacti and wipe out fragile wildlife habitat. We knew this kind of damage was possible, and now, we are witnessing the worst come to fruition," she said. "The administration’s expensive and unnecessary new wall is destroying the very things our national parks were created to preserve and protect, and Congress is letting it happen."

Construction on the 30-foot-tall bollard wall began this past summer. As part of the project, a 60-foot swath of desert floor was bulldozed; all told, nearly 220 acres of the national monument could be impacted by the work.

“There is no question that border security is vital to our country, but Congress must ensure the solutions we find don’t destroy the national treasures they’ve committed to protecting," Pierno said. "This is not the legacy we should be leaving for our children and grandchildren."

According to an analysis by NPCA's senior director of budget and appropriations, John Garder, the budget package carries $3.37 billion overall for the Park Service, a boost of $155 million. Nearly $2.6 billion is earmarked for the agency's operations budget, a 3 percent increase over FY19 funding. The Park Service's appropriation for construction, some of which is used to tackle the maintenance backlog, inched up 6.8 percent, to $389,345,000 Garder noted. 

The budget packages "offer a bit of a mixed bag for our national parks and adjacent communities," Garder said Tuesday. "On the one hand, the defense and homeland security bills allow for the deeply damaging and alarming construction of the (border) wall through Organ Pipe Cactus, and surrounding areas.

"But on the other hand, we applaud the many provisions in the Interior and Energy, Water portions. The Interior, Energy, and Water bills clearly reflect the hard work and negotiations of appropriators and arriving at bills that increase needed funding for the Park Service, park programs, and clean water programs important to the health of park waters," he said. "There are also several policy provisions that seek to protect the cultural landscape around Chaco Canyon."

The budget package also contains $200 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for work on restoring the health of the Everglades, a provision that should help both Everglades National Park and adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve.

"If passed by both Houses and approved by the President, this agreement means that Everglades restoration is poised to receive full federal funding for only the second time in 20 years. It is a welcome and historic step that will accelerate completion of projects to reduce the discharge of algae-causing polluted water to our coasts and restore the flow of fresh water south through the River of Grass," said Eric Eikenberg, CEO of The Everglades Foudation.

The state of Florida is expected to match the federal funding dollar for dollar, according to the foundation.

"Full and consistent funding from both Tallahassee and Washington is critical to keep the conveyor belt of project planning, construction and completion on track," said Eikenberg. "This federal funding agreement should persuade the Florida Legislature to join Governor (Ron) DeSantis in his call for sustained, consistent funding for Everglades restoration and clean water projects of $625 million annually over the next three years."