When it is safe to fully re-open our national parks, we need to ensure that park rangers have the resources they need to provide exceptional visitor experiences, protect park resources and address longstanding maintenance needs.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, years of underfunding by Congress forced park managers to care for our national parks on shoestring budgets, often making difficult choices between providing visitor services or repairing worn out facilities.
Speak up for your national parks! Tell your members of Congress to stand on the side of parks and fight to ensure that rangers have the resources they need to protect and maintain our parks for centuries to come.
To whom it may concern:
I understand your office may be rightfully focused on ensuring the safety and health of your constituents and all Americans right now. And I thank you for that.
As you look to creating opportunities to stimulate our economy and get people back to work, I urge you to consider increasing appropriations funding to the National Park Service. Our national parks continue to face challenges of understaffing, while also dealing with record visitation and growing repair backlogs across the country. Park staff are critical to national parks, providing education and interpretation for millions of visitors every year, protecting and managing resources, and addressing much-needed maintenance.
As someone who cares strongly about America's national parks, I urge you to pass an FY2021 Interior, Environment and Related Agencies appropriations bill that includes $2.671 billion for National Park Service Operations (a $94 million increase over FY20), $439 million for the construction account (a $50 million increase over FY20), and $23 million in the Centennial Challenge account which leverages nonfederal dollars to enhance projects and programs in parks across the country.
These small increases will help put more Americans to work in the National Park System to preserve these treasured places that remain vital to our economy and local communities across the country.
Thank you for considering my views.
[Your comment here]
Sincerely,
[Your name]
