An overdue investment in parks

The time is ripe, we said not too far back, for a strategic investment in national parks, and it appears the Bush administration wants to do just that.

Early this week, the administration proposed a 15 percent funding increase of $258 million for the National Park Service for fiscal year 2008, along with a long-term commitment to boost funding by $100 million every year leading up to the National Park Service's 100th birthday in 2016.

Another component of the administration's "Centennial Challenge" initiative would make an additional $100 million available for matching contributions from private organizations.

Combined, the National Park Service estimates the public and private investments could amount to $3 billion over 10 years.

Not surprisingly, park backers are cheering this proposal as loudly as they have been complaining about chronic underfunding that has prevailed for decades.

We do not use the word "investment" lightly. Glacier National Park is more than just pretty scenery and wild creatures - it is indisputably an economic engine and an economic magnet for the communities that surround it. Glacier is an enormous asset, and as such it requires investment rather than the financial neglect it has experienced for decades.

By our estimate, the Centennial Challenge represents the most significant financial commitment to national parks since the Mission 66 campaign launched by the Eisenhower Administration in 1955.

That project was the brainchild of former Service Director Conrad Wirth, at a time when parks were experiencing visitor booms after a protracted period of neglect, largely due to World War II. Mission 66 mostly involved infrastructure development: roads, camping and picnic areas, restrooms, housing and visitor centers. It also led to an expansion of so-called interpretive programs, including exhibits and pamphlets, as well as staffing increases across the country.

By the time the effort concluded in 1966 - the 50th anniversary of the park service - spending totaled more than $900 million, a milestone in the service's history.

Fifty years is a long time to go without another milestone in infrastructure and operational investment. The National Park Service operates with a funding shortfall that has been estimated at $800 million.

Glacier Park itself has an estimated operating shortfall of $7 million, along with a maintenance backlog estimated at $280 million. The administration's budget proposal would increase Glacier funding by an additional $1.8 million, roughly a 15 percent increase over 2006 funding.

It's long overdue.