DOI Orders National Park Service To Halt Spending On Recreation Fee Projects

Published Date

March 8, 2019

Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told the National Park Service on Friday that he wanted to personally approve any new projects funded through fees paid by park visitors/NPS file

Acting Interior Secretary David Bernhardt on Friday ordered the National Park Service not to launch any projects or programs funded through recreation fees and intended for use in improving the visitor experience.

More so, the acting secretary told the agency that he wants to review all "project descriptions and project cost information" for those paid for with funds collected under the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act, and personally approve those not already under way.

"Please stay tuned for more information - we may need to refine these instructions as we continue to discuss this with the Acting Secretary," wrote Lena McDowall, the Park Service's deputy director for management and administration in an email to regional directors, deputy regional directors, and assistant regional directors that was obtained by the Traveler. "To conduct this review, Acting Secretary Bernhardt has requested information on every project planned for this fiscal year. He will be reviewing project descriptions and project cost information for all FLREA projects. Please note that he will review this information for projects already underway as well as for those not yet started."

The directive comes two months after Bernhardt gave the Park Service permission to use FLREA funds -- up to a quarter-billion dollars, if necessary -- to send additional staff into the National Park System during the partial government shutdown to clean up after visitors. The move was criticized at the time by park advocacy groups and some members of Congress as a highly questionable and possibly illegal use of the revenues.

It also comes just three days before President Trump is to present his Fiscal 2020 budget proposal to Congress, a proposal that reportedly will propose significant budget cuts across domestic programs.

Park Service personnel Friday morning began preparing spreadsheets for the acting secretary that would outline the planned projects and their costs.

"We will know more about what additional instructions the Acting Secretary may have for us once he begins reviewing projects," wrote McDowall. "Please ensure that all of your parks and programs receive this directive."

As FLREA was envisioned and set up, the revenues from entrance fees and other approved programs are to go to enhance the visitor experience. That could be through better facilities, more interpretive programs, or restored habitat.

Some of those funds also typically are spent on seasonal positions, such as staffing campgrounds. With that money put in question during the partial government shutdown, it was feared that it could throw a wrench into summer hiring plans, as the National Park Service's human resources offices in January normally would be moving into the introductory steps of organizing this summer's hiring.

Additionally, more than 55 percent of the fees typically go towards deferred maintenance projects, so handcuffing the Park Service's ability to use those funds could add to the maintenance backlog, estimated at $11.9 billion at the end of Fiscal 2018.

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Comments

Submitted by The Reorg is here on March 9, 2019 - 5:14am.

Will we ever get a Director? Why has David Vela's name not been forwarded yet? The Micromanaging of the NPS continues. Welcome to the new Department of the Interior where decisions are made in the field where they should be..oh...what a minute...

Submitted by Red on March 9, 2019 - 3:22pm.

Why is there an 11.9 billion dollar maintenance backlog?

Submitted by ecbuck on March 9, 2019 - 3:33pm.

Several reasons. Congress hasn't allocated enough dollars, Congress and the NPS have bit off more than they can chew and a good chunk of the "backlog" represents wish lists rather than actual deferred maintenance.

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 9, 2019 - 3:41pm.

Actually, EC, I don't think your third point holds water...unless you have proof. I've asked that specific question to park officials and they say the review processes looks out specifically for that kind of thing.

Submitted by ecbuck on March 9, 2019 - 4:03pm.

Perhaps we have different definitions. I recall seeing lists in the past that had items that went far beyond maintenance. Building larger and grander buildings to replace older deteriating ones for example or replacing buildings that might not really need to be replaced. But, you have me at a disadvantage as I don't have any of the actual lists in hand.

Submitted by ecbuck on March 9, 2019 - 4:06pm.

The need for maintenance in the park is very real. "We've got 25,000 buildings to take care of in all the national parks," says Phil Francis, former superintendent of the Blue Ridge Parkway. It's a huge amount of work, but according to the CAP report, the vast majority of the backlog is stuff the parks needs, but doesn't exactly need tomorrow. In fact, only $3.5 billion of the backlog is labeled "critical" and dedicated to systems the parks need to function, like sewage and water lines. Of that sum, only $1.3 billion--under 10 percent of the $11.9 total--is considered priority maintenance, meaning work that needs to be done immediately to keep parks open (repairing downed power lines or unsafe structure, for instance).

The deferred maintenance backlog represents every project the Park Service needs money for, not just what needs to be done immediately. "A lot of it would more accurately be described as a wish list," Gentile says. "I would really love a new bicycle. Do I need one? No, but if somebody offered me one, I'd say yes."

https://www.outsideonline.com/2158451/whats-really-stake-park-services-1...

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 9, 2019 - 4:10pm.

With Scotty's Castle listed on the National Register of Historic Places, repairs have to follow restoration guidelines contained within Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. Too, as inspections following the flooding turned up other issues that existed prior to the disaster, they had to be tackled during the repair work as well, she said.

"There are definitely a lot of checkpoints that we go through internally where that very question is asked," Wines replied when I asked about concerns that adjusters might base their estimates on unnecessary, but appreciated, upgrades. "So it’s a lot easier to get funding to repair something that’s broken, or just aged out of being effective, than it is to build a new facility or to replace something with a new facility. That’s always a lot harder to justify. So there’s lots of questions through the funding process where that gets looked at and scrutinized.

"On the other hand, you don’t repair something to broken," she stressed. "At Scotty’s Castle, think about something like the water system. The water line before the flood happened had ongoing leaks that were issues. Then the entire pipeline washed away. It doesn’t exist anymore. Obviously, in that case we’re going to replace it with something new. The thing that used to exist doesn’t exist any more. And it's going to work well. That’s great. We’re not repairing to broken. That would not make sense.”

https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2018/09/traveler-special-report-la...

Submitted by Addy on March 9, 2019 - 4:14pm.

Ec, maintenance done before something is needed immediately costs less in the long run and is good stewardship.

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