Conditions | Policy Options | Sources

 

 

The U. S. National Park System (NPS) entertained more than 266 million recreational visits in 2003. The system consists of 388 park units, including more than 18,000 permanent structures, 12,000 miles of roads, 1,800 bridges and tunnels, 4,246 housing units, roughly 1,527 water and wastewater systems, more than 400 dams, and 200 solid waste operations.

 

The NPS is nearing completion of an effort to accurately evaluate the conditions of all NPS assets and has estimated the maintenance backlog for its facilities at as much as $6.1 billion. However, as noted by the General Accounting Office (GAO) in a 1998 report, it has no formal method for evaluating the conditions of its assets. The NPS has since developed an asset-management program designed to assess the conditions of all of its assets in a standardized, consistent manner in two phases.

First, in a basic review evaluation, intended to be conducted at all parks on an annual basis and second, a more in-depth review to take place every three to five years. The basic evaluations have been conducted at all but the four largest parks in the system, and the remaining four are expected to be completed by FY 2006.

 

The Bush Administration's FY 2006 budget request includes $1.1 billion for the National Park Service, completing a $4.9 billion commitment over 5 years for park facility maintenance and construction that began in FY 2002. During FY 2001-2002, the majority of nearly $350 million in funding to address the maintenance backlog was spent on buildings, safety and utilities.

 

In 2001, just 35% of park roads were in good condition. The Administration's legislative proposal to reauthorize the nation's surface transportation systems included $320 million in funds for park roads; however, the reauthorization process remains stalled in Congress, with significant action not likely until late spring 2005.

 

The nation's largest provider of public outdoor recreation opportunities is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps works with states, counties, cities, concessionaires and other federal agencies by leasing lands to them for the development of public park and recreation facilities. At the Corps' 456 lake projects, there are roughly 4,300 public recreation areas. The Corps shares some of these costs with  local governmental entities on a 50/50 basis.

 

The condition of Corps-managed recreation areas and those of its partners is a nationwide issue. More than 90% of the Corps lake projects were constructed before 1980. In fact, 40% of those same projects were constructed prior to 1960. A mix of Corps, public, and private sector providers has traditionally provided recreation opportunities at Corps lakes. Both Corps areas and other public recreation areas on Corps lands have borne the brunt of many years of heavy recreational use and lack of proper maintenance.

 

Further, modern recreational equipment and recreational use patterns of today's diverse population no longer fit Corps recreational areas. Equipment has changed drastically both in size and in infrastructure requirements. New uses for Corps lakes, such as sail boarding, were never anticipated when Corps facilities were designed. Even more significant is the rapid diversification of this nation's population. While we know that use patterns and recreation preferences vary according to population segments, Corps facilities continue to provide recreation for the much less diverse population of the 1960s.

 

These public recreation areas are in need of modernization. Whether it is a problem with accessibility, inadequate RV hook-ups, meeting the needs of today's diverse population, or an issue with safety, these recreation areas require modernization to meet the needs of present customers, underserved populations, and future generations.

 

State parks represent less than 2% of the total outdoor recreation areas, but more than 29% of all visitors at outdoor recreation areas, state or federal.

 

Many large urban areas are using publicly funded parks, beaches and recreational harbors as focal points and amenities for redevelopment of blighted urban areas. These projects often use funding from multiple sources, including the federal, state and local governments, private companies and philanthropists, to clean up and revitalize neglected areas.

 

These success stories have made a huge difference in these communities, and demonstrate an ideal cost-sharing model for infrastructure renewal. There are, however, simply too few success stories.

 

There is also an opportunity to make use of our nation's urban open space to provide "green infrastructure" alternatives for transportation and stormwater management. Bicycle paths and walkways provide alternative urban transportation, while stormwater greenways and wetlands help to prevent overflowing sewers and floods. These interconnected systems of green spaces would conserve natural ecosystems; preserve biodiversity; sustain clean air and water; and reduce flood control, stormwater management and road construction costs.

Recreational boating infrastructure, such as breakwaters, harbor dredging, fishing piers, boat slips and launch ramps, serve as public gateways to our nation's waterways. Annual boat registrations have more than doubled in the past three decades. In fact, since 1988, annual boat registrations have steadily increased from 10 million to nearly 13 million boats - an increase of 23%. Approximately 78 million Americans enjoy recreational boating each year and are dependent on these facilities for public access.

While boating continues to be a popular recreational choice among Americans, federal and state investment in boating infrastructure has generally declined in the past few years, in part because of federal and state budgetary issues. The public access opportunity provided by many of these facilities is being lost to more profitable land uses, as existing marinas and boatyards are being sold for their land value and redeveloped for non-water-dependent land uses. The need for public boating access is simply not keeping pace with the nation's growing population.

 

California's Department of Boating and Waterways recently determined that statewide, boating contributed approximately $16.5 billion to the Gross State Product annually. In addition, boating contributed $1.6 billion in state and local taxes annually. There were 8,500 boating related businesses in the state that provided more than 284,000 jobs to the economy.

 

The study concluded that there is a need for investment in the development of new facilities to accommodate the anticipated growth amounting to $695 million through 2020. In addition to this amount, there is a need for upgrade or replacement of the existing facilities (approximately two-thirds of the inventoried facilities will need such work within the next 10 years) totaling more than $1.8 billion over the next 10 years. The federal, state and local expenditures for these items are not even close to meeting this need.

 

Coastal areas are vital to Americans, providing a home for 53% of the nation's population on just 17% of the land area, as well as popular vacation destinations for American and foreign tourists. In fact, coastal areas generate almost 31% of the U.S. gross domestic product. Beaches provide shore protection in these areas, and have a tremendous national economic impact.

 

Travel and tourism is the United State's largest industry, employer and earner of foreign exchange. Spending by foreign tourists alone supports 2.7 million U.S. jobs. The popularity of beaches dominates tourism, with 75% of summer travelers planning to visit beaches. In the United States., coastal states receive about 85% of the country's tourist-related revenues, largely because of the popularity of beaches.

 

Beach erosion and shore protection are of major concern to tourism and, for more than 60 years, the federal government has worked in concert with state and local entities to maintain and restore the nation's beaches to benefit all Americans.