It would be wonderful to see this national plan matched by a ten year local plan for the Parkway to refurbish the fading jewel and connecting to the national effort, seek National Heritage Area designation (a National Parks program) for the American River Watershed.
This will not result in any additional federal control over it, nor any loss of local control, but will acknowledge the national importance of the birthplace of the gold rush, and the beauty within it, also of national stature.
Editorial: A fitting way to mark national parks' centennial
Restoring park system's glories by 2016 will require a decade of commitment
Published 12:00 am PST Sunday, March 4, 2007
Our national parks are hurting.
The National Park Service operating budget, adjusted for inflation, has dropped nearly 20 percent in the past 25 years. There are fewer park rangers and education programs. Visitors find crumbling roads, outdated displays and poorly maintained campgrounds and trails.
All of this is detailed in "Faded Glory," a 2005 report from the National Parks Conservation Association, which concluded that the nation's parks have been "withering for years, suffering without sufficient staff and operating funds."
The nation faced a similar situation after World War II. Then, as now, the parks suffered neglect, deterioration and budget cutbacks. Then, as now, fixing things required a lot more than a one-year budget increase.
So in 1956, parks director Conrad Wirth launched a 10-year project called "Mission 66" to prepare the parks for their 50th anniversary in 1966. The aim, wrote Wirth, was to "overcome the inroads of neglect and to restore to the American people a National Park System adequate for their needs." Though Congress had to approve annual appropriations, President Eisenhower asked for funding to cover an entire decade. Congress followed through each year.
It will take a similar 10-year commitment to restore the parks today for their 100th anniversary in 2016. The nation is already a year behind in what should have been a decade-long undertaking, so we need to do a march in quick-time to catch up.
