Friday, March 23, 2018 | 2 a.m.
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The Feb. 26 Las Vegas Sun editorial, “Budget proposal’s prescription to heal national parks is a poison pill,” gave a misguided, and in some cases factually inaccurate, interpretation of President Donald Trump’s 2019 proposed budget and infrastructure plan for national parks.
The president’s legislative proposal for a Public Lands Infrastructure Fund would use funds produced from federal energy leasing and development activities to invest up to $18 billion over 10 years to fix the crumbling infrastructure in national parks, wildlife refuges and Bureau of Indian Education-funded schools.
These funds would be derived from energy mineral leasing — e.g., oil, gas and coal — under the Mineral Leasing Act and Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, as well as solar, wind, and geothermal development on federal lands and offshore areas that have been designated for multiple uses, not national parks as the editorial suggests. Nor does the proposal include plans to give private industries access to parks to use for commercial activities, as claimed in the editorial.
The president’s infrastructure proposal would address the $11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog in our national parks. In addition, the budget includes $805 million in 2019 for infrastructure and construction projects in national parks.
The editorial also suggested that the Department of the Interior would be given the prerogative to sell off public lands. This is not true. U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke adamantly opposes the sale or transfer of public lands. Even prior to being named secretary, Zinke stated emphatically that our public lands are not for sale.
The editorial claimed that “the budget calls for massive cutbacks in staffing — 1,835 National Parks Service employees.” First, the number cited does not reflect an additional $299 million provided in an addendum to the fiscal year 2019 budget proposal for the operation of the National Park System that would include funding employees. Furthermore, Zinke has stated repeatedly that potential rightsizing of the workforce at the Department of the Interior will be achieved through attrition and retirement, with an increased focus on frontline employees in parks.
Last year, the National Park Service saw more than 330 million visits to parks across the country. Those numbers demonstrate the immense love Americans have for these places. But that love comes at a cost, as the infrastructure needed is seeing more wear and tear than ever.
The president’s proposal to invest in infrastructure at national parks will boost spending in the communities around them and create jobs across the country, while also restoring the facilities that enable visitors to enjoy them. That’s no poison pill — it’s just what the doctor ordered.
Alex Hinson is deputy press secretary at the U.S. Department of the Interior.
