Celebrate and support our national parks, landmarks

Twentieth century writer, environmentalist and historian Wallace Stegner once called America’s network of national parks “the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best.”

For 100 years, the National Park Service has been charged with overseeing, nurturing and expanding that brilliant idea. This summer’s NPS centennial provides an opportune time for Americans to reflect, savor and celebrate the size, scope and impact of their titanic treasure trove of enriching natural and historical assets administered by the park service. It is also a time to recommit support toward their endurance well into a second century.

For many, national park properties beckon thoughts of the awe-inspiring landscapes of the Big Three – Yosemite, Yellowstone and Grand Canyon. That vision, however, is grossly shortsighted.

In fact, the park service administers or oversees more than 400 parks, monuments, recreation areas, memorials and historical sites and trails in all 50 states on more than 84 million acres, including the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in nearby Summit County. It ranks among the top 10 most-popular national parks in the system.

Under its auspices, the NPS also oversees thousands of national historic landmarks, such as those in the Mahoning Valley that include the William Holmes McGuffey Boyhood Home Site in Coitsville, the Harriet Taylor Upton House in Warren and the Beginning of the U.S. Public Land Survey in East Liverpool.

And just as the extent of NPS holdings looms larger than many imagine, so, too, does its multifold mission. Legions of Park Service workers and volunteers take seriously their charge of protecting natural ecosystems, saving endangered species, reducing our carbon footprint, preserving history and revitalizing communities.

President Barack Obama, who spent this Father’s Day weekend visiting Carlsbad Caverns and Yosemite national parks with his family, has championed the NPS throughout his tenure. Some even liken him to a 21st-century Teddy Roosevelt for his zeal for conservationism and historic preservation.

Obama has taken action to invest more heavily in America’s natural resources, to protect our public lands and to help ensure that all Americans have the opportunity to experience this nation’s unparalleled national parks, monuments, forests and other public lands.

The president, for example, has celebrated 99 victories for wildlife conservation, including overseeing more recoveries under the Endangered Species Act than under any previous presidential administration.

PARKS AS ECONOMIC ENGINES

Aside from the obvious natural and environmental benefits from safeguarding our national parks and landmarks, economic returns also proliferate. Our bounty of NPS jewels attracts visitors from all over the world, fueling local economies and yielding an estimated impact of $646 billion annually. In 2015, more than 305 million people visited America’s national parks, setting an all-time record. Nationwide, visitors spent $16.9 billion in local communities. The annual economic impact of the park system on Ohio alone is tagged at $246 million.

Yet in spite of its success, many facets of the national park system are beginning to show their age. Indeed the NPS reports a $12 billion backlog in critical maintenance projects. That includes more than $920 million of work needed at sites in the Buckeye State.

As Sally Jewell, secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, told a gathering of the National Geographic Society earlier this year, “Budget crunches have left our national parks and public lands understaffed and struggling to keep up with day-to-day operations.”

President Obama and a rare alliance of congressional Democrats and Republicans have succeeded in increasing federal funding for national parks. After all, there should be no room for partisanship in the effort to avoid permanent damage to historic sites and environmental preserves that simply are irreplaceable.

In addition, this year’s National Park Service Centennial Act encourages and incentivizes private-sector support and donations. Such public-private partnerships and other innovative support systems should be expanded to preserve and strengthen our precious national parks and landmarks in perpetuity.