7 Reasons to Save Our Parks Now

Our national parks, which welcome hundreds of millions of visitors every year, are in trouble. The National Park Service has a repair backlog of nearly $12 billion. If we want our parks to continue documenting our history, providing world-class recreation areas, and bolstering local economies, the time to act is now. Here are seven reasons:

1. Congress is poised to act.

More than half of the U.S. House of Representatives and one-third of the U.S. Senate support bipartisan legislation (H.R. 6510/S. 3172) to restore our parks. Key committees in both chambers have held hearings and approved bipartisan legislation that would address priority national park repairs over five years.

2. America wants Congress to #FixOurParks now.

A recent Pew commissioned poll shows that 76 percent of Americans want Congress to pass funding to fix our parks.

3. Businesses and other stakeholders say lawmakers should tackle the repair backlog.

Nearly 3,000 local officials, businesses, and organizations across the country have called on Congress to dedicate more resources to fixing our parks.

4. Action to #FixOurParks is long overdue.

The National Park Service is over 100 years old. Many of its sites and facilities are deteriorating and facing pressures from increased visitation. Congress hasn’t made a significant investment in our parks in more than 50 years, resulting in a backlog of repairs that would cost almost $12 billion to fix.

5. Restoring our parks is a smart investment.

In 2017 alone, national park visitors spent over $18 billion in local communities, generating more than $35 billion in national economic output and over 306,000 jobs.

6. Addressing the national park backlog will create jobs.

A Pew-commissioned analysis found that fully investing in the national park backlog has the potential to create or support approximately 110,000 jobs.

7. Making repairs now saves money later.

Addressing maintenance issues as soon as possible limits the extent of damage and keeps repair costs from escalating over time while preventing the backlog from growing.

Marcia Argust directs The Pew Charitable Trusts' campaign to restore America's parks.