Investing In The National Park Service

Most people who have been to a park have said “Wow! That is really cool!” These parks are great vacation sites and are a part of some of the greatest history of America. The National Park Service (NPS) has protected, preserved, and conserved the nation’s monuments and parks for over 100 years. This agency is who to thank for the family vacations and the preserving of history that many people from America and many other nations have enjoyed. They protect 412 national parks and monuments, including the Yellowstone National Park. The government has proposed budget cuts to the National Park Service that could potentially ruin the national parks and monuments. Investing in the National Park Service should be a priority in the nation because they

This budget includes a combination of visitor fees and the annual congressional appropriation that have totaled to a humble three billion yearly. This substandard budget is inadequate to an asset that is “valued at over $90 billion” (Bilmes and Loomis). The nation should make the National Park Service a top priority because even though they have worked this long with such a low budget, they are not capable of doing that anymore. Investing in the National Park Service and making it a top priority in the nation would benefit the agency’s budget, as well as the visitor’s experience. If the National Park Service did not exist, national parks and monuments would not be as well kept or visitable. The low­grade budget of roughly three billion dollars annually is not acceptable to the “backlog of overdue maintenance projects that stands at $12 billion and rising” (Bilmes

The National Park Service teaches many children and adults about nature and historical events that have affected the nation’s monuments and parks. Many people care about the programs that the National Park Service runs because they do many things that involve educating such as “teaching kids about nature, developing teacher curriculum materials and interpreting historical events” (Bilmes and Loomis). The National Park Service protects national parks and monuments that are significant to the history of America. By investing in the National Park Service and making it a top priority, these sites would be safeguarded even further. Not investing in the National Park Service could harm the monuments or parks that so many people enjoy visiting. The National Park Service teaches about certain laws, such as the “Antiquities Act,” that were passed to protect parks, and how many presidents such as “Warren G. Harding,” “Theodore Roosevelt,” and “Bill Clinton” have designated many areas as National Monuments (Thompson). Programs run by the National Park Service enlighten people on the history and the making of the nation’s parks and monuments. Not investing in the National Park Service would lead to educational programs being cut, consequently lowering the knowledge visitors will have when they visit the