Congressman Mark Souder, who has been logging plenty of frequent flier miles while crisscrossing the country to learn about national park funding problems, will touch down in Arizona this Thursday, the 13th of October.
    Souder, although a Republican, does not outwardly share the views of fellow Republican Richard Pombo, who thinks some park units could be sold off to generate funds for the federal government. No, Souder actually believes our national parks are underfunded. And to solve that problem, he and Democrat Brian Baird of Washington are touting their National Park Centennial Act, which is intended to wipe out the park service's maintenance backlog by 2016, the bicentennial of the National Park Service.
    So far Souder has held hearings on park funding in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Washington, D.C., Boston and Seattle. Thursday's hearing is in Flagstaff, Arizona, in the City Council Chambers. The hearing, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., will offer testimony on inadequate funding for Southwest parks such as the Grand Canyon, Zion, and Bryce Canyon, as well as Carlsbad Caverns.