Interior Department Secretary Doug Burgum wants you to overlook President Donald Trump's call for a billion-dollar cut to the National Park Service budget and the nearly 24 percent loss of Park Service employees under the president and celebrate the Great American Outdoor Act, which is running out of steam.
Burgum is not calling for renewal of the legislation, which sunsets at year's end, but is calling for more drilling and mining on public lands.
The secretary, who as North Dakota's governor rose to the cause of keeping feral horses at Theodore Roosevelt National Park, is saying the Park Service should be relieved of "cost center" park units, places like Fort Larned National Historic Site, Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, maybe a national seashore or lakeshore or two that cost more to operate than they return to the Treasury.
Burgum has yet to speak publicly about the loss of the Grand Canyon Lodge on the North Rim of Grand Canyon National Park, but is more than happy to dream of relieving the Park Service of Alcatraz Island so it could serve as a detention center (talk about a cost center!).
He also wants you to know that in celebration of the fifth anniversary of the Great American Outdoors Act that President Trump signed into law during his first term, entrance fees will be waived in the National Park System on August 4.
“The Great American Outdoors Act is improving our nation’s most popular and iconic public land sites,” Burgum said in a release Wednesday. “It has been my honor to witness the important work GAOA has completed over the past five years, and I encourage everyone to visit their nearest public land to celebrate the anniversary.”
According to Interior, the GAOA has funded projects that "have repaired or replaced more than 3,800 assets, including recreation facilities, water and utility systems, Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools, hunting and fishing infrastructure, historic structures and other critical infrastructure. Each year, Interior’s GAOA-funded projects support an average of 17,000 jobs and contribute about $1.9 billion to the national economy, benefiting gateway and local communities by supporting outdoor recreation and tourism."
We can only hope the secretary will publicly voice support for the America the Beautiful Act, bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this year in the U.S. Senate that would reauthorize the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) for eight years and increase its funding to $2 billion a year.
While the GAOA has done good work, much more needs to be done. According to the senators, the maintenance backlog for each agency that would benefit from the additional funding currently stands at:
- National Park Service: $23.26 billion
- U.S. Forest Service: $8.695 billion
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service: $2.65 billion
- U.S. Bureau of Land Management: $5.72 billion
- U.S. Bureau of Indian Education: $804.5 million
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The easiest way to explore RV-friendly National Park campgrounds.
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