Senate committee approves legislation to address maintenance backlog in National Park System/NPS file

A Senate committee has passed out to the full chamber legislation designed to make a significant cut in the roughly $12 billion maintenance backlog across the National Park System, but it faces long odds to become law this year.

The Restore Our Parks Act, which could provide upwards of $6.5 billion over five years specifically for backlogged maintenance in the parks, cleared the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee on a bipartisan 15-5 vote Tuesday. The House Natural Resources Committee approved similar legislation back in June, though it remains to be seen if either measure appears before either the full Senate or full House for final action this year.

“This legislation could do more to restore our national parks than anything that has happened in the last half century, and the reason we need to restore them is so Americans can enjoy the 419 sites – from the National Mall in Washington, D.C., to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park to the Grand Canyon – for generations to come,” said U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tennessee, who helped sponsor the Senate version. “This bill will help restore the campgrounds, trails, and roads in what one of America’s greatest story tellers, Ken Burns, calls ‘America’s best idea’ – our National Park System. This bill will allow future generations to enjoy America’s best idea in the same way that we have.”

At The Pew Charitable Trusts, Marcia Argust said the Senate committee's vote was "yet another sign of the overwhelming public and congressional support to fix our parks. It’s now up to leadership in the Senate and House of Representatives to advance the bipartisan Restore Our Parks legislation. Enacting this measure into law would be a historic end-of-the-year gift to our national parks, their millions of visitors, and local economies.”

At the Property and Environment Research Center in Bozeman, Montana, Shawn Regan applauded the committee's action, but questioned whether the measure in its current form could gain full congressional passage. Complicating that is the fact that the committee also passed out legislation calling for full funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which, like the parks' legislation, calls for funding from federal energy royalty revenues.

"Several challenges remain. The Senate committee today also approved full mandatory funding for the Land and Water Conservation Fund — a bill that, like the Restore Our Parks Act, is derived from federal energy revenues. There is bipartisan support for both bills, but it is unlikely that Congress will be able to pass both," said Regan. "These bills are also advancing at a time when the leading Democratic presidential candidates are calling for an end to the revenue sources that both bills depend on. Funding for both bills is derived from federal energy leases. It is unclear how these efforts will succeed under future Democratic administrations that are committed to banning such leasing."

National Parks and Conservation Association President and CEO Theresa Pierno said the parks' legislation is desperately needed.

"As our parks face years of record-breaking visitation, they are falling into disrepair,” she said. “Billions of dollars are needed to fix parks’ crumbling roads, overgrown trails, broken water and sewer systems and outdated visitor centers. This isn’t the legacy we should be leaving for our children and grandchildren. After years of urging by communities and park advocates, today lawmakers are banding together, across the aisle, to fix our parks. We are grateful for the leadership of Senators (Rob) Portman, (Mark) Warner, Alexander and (Angust) King, as we move one important step closer to providing our parks, rangers and local communities with the support they so desperately need and deserve.”