National Parks, Sequestration and Scare Tactics

The latest dire warnings from politicians, news media outlets, pundits and special interest groups are currently focused on an inside-the-beltway term known as sequestration.

Sequestration refers to the across-the-board budget cuts that will take effect on March 1st - unless an agreement on deficit reduction can be reached beforehand. This "gimmick" was agreed upon by both the president and congress several months ago in order to force both sides to come to some agreement on spending reductions.

This blog posting will focus on the impact sequestration will have on national parks. Most importantly, it will focus on a leaked memo from National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, which makes very little sense from my perch.

First off, let me show three graphs to help explain where we are, and where we've come from in terms of spending. The first graph shows total federal spending since 1999. The analysis begins with this year because 1999 was the first year I could find NPS budget figures. For all three graphs 2013 figures are current estimates. The following federal spending data comes from the Whitehouse website, and the figures quoted are in trillions:

As you can see, spending at the federal level has risen sharply over the last several years. However, increases in spending on national parks have been relatively modest. In fact, the National Park Service budget has seen small declines every year since 2010. The following graph shows the total NPS budget authority, which was compiled using data from the NPS Budget History, and the NPS Green Book. The numbers quoted here are in billions:

To look at this data a little differently, here's a chart showing total NPS budget authority as a percentage of total federal spending. As you can see, the NPS share of the overall pie has been getting smaller over the last decade (which simply means the rest of the federal government is growing much faster than the NPS budget):

Late last month the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees published a leaked memo from National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, which stated that the NPS should assume a 5% decrease in the 2013 budget as a result of the impending sequestration. I find this figure to be a little curious. The sequestration calls for a cut of $85 billion to the 2013 federal budget, which amounts to only a 2.24% decrease in the overall federal budget.

Moreover, according to an analysis by the Congressional Budget Office, only $44 billion would actually be cut out of the 2013 budget. This is due to the sequestration taking effect on March 1st, which is already 5 months into the federal fiscal year which began on October 1st. This means only 1.16% of the 2013 budget is scheduled to be cut if sequestration goes into effect.

So why is Jarvis stating that 5% needs to be cut from the NPS budget? Or, why would the president decide to cut NPS funding at a higher rate than the rest of the budget? 

A budget cut of 1.16% would reduce the National Park Service budget from $2.99 billion, down to $2.96 billion. A cut of 2.24% would reduce the NPS budget down to $2.90 billion. Even if we were to assume that the NPS Director is correct (which I don't), a cut of 5% would draw the NPS budget down to $2.84 billion - which is still higher than the amount that the NPS spent in 2008, or any year before that.

So when I see headlines from the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees that reads "Sequestration Budget Cuts Would Turn National Parks Into Ghost Towns", or from the National Parks Conservation Association; "Proof Positive: Our National Parks Are in Peril", I can't help but be a little skeptical.

Then, when I read things like "all national parks should be prepared for reduced hours and fewer services", or "NPS said cuts could include closing of campgrounds and hiking trails. Interpretive programs could also be curtailed" or "If these cuts go into effect, it appears they will harm every one of the 398 parks and monuments in the system as well as park rangers, tourism-dependent businesses and communities, and the millions of Americans who rely on national parks for affordable vacations", I can't help but conclude that these organizations and news media outlets are simply using scare tactics to get cash-strapped Americans to pony up more tax dollars.

I'm calling BS on all this. Certainly there are many smart people in NPS management that can figure how to operate off the same amount of money they were receiving just a couple of years ago. And, for that matter, the same goes for all the other agencies and programs in Washington DC, whose special interest groups are likely using the same scare tactics.


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier National Park

Director Jarvis Signs Policy On Sale Of Disposable Plastic Water Bottles

Earlier this week National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis signed a policy to allow national park superintendents to discontinue the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles.

"Sustainability is a signature effort for the National Park Service," Director Jarvis said. "We must be a visible example of sustainability, so it is important that we move our sustainability program forward as an organization."

The policy came about after two national parks had discontinued the sale of water in disposable plastic bottles and more parks sought to do the same. Director Jarvis said the subject of disposable plastic bottles affects the entire national park system and warranted a national policy.

The policy addresses recycling, reduction of the sales of disposable plastic water bottles through visitor education as well as the end of the sales of these bottles if superintendents (1) complete a rigorous impact analysis including an assessment of the effects on visitor health and safety, (2) submit a request in writing to their regional director, and (3) receive the approval of their regional director.

Education is a big part of the policy. Parks will develop a proactive visitor education strategy that addresses visitor expectations and explains the rationale for whatever plastic bottle reduction, recycling, or elimination effort is implemented. This includes information about the environmental impact of purchasing decisions and the availability of reasonably priced reusable bottles which can be filled at water fountains or bottle refill stations.

You can click here to read more about the new policy.


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Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

Park Prescription: Take a Hike and Call me in the Morning

Amid the twin crises of health care and a tough economy, national parks and protected lands are a largely unrealized source of public health benefits. National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis says, “Being outdoors has positive effects on health that don’t cost a dime.”

Jarvis will share more of those thoughts in a keynote speech Sunday in Washington before thousands of public health leaders at the 139th meeting of the American Public Health Association.

To cover Jarvis’ speech visit the APHA press site: http://www.apha.org/about/news/ampressinfo/

National parks have always been loved for their symbolism and scenery, Jarvis said, “but they can also act as medicine and therapy.”

Simply taking an hour-long walk in a natural environment can bring about a drop in blood pressure and heart rate because of the immediate relaxation you experience. And because health care costs are center stage in the debate about the nation’s economy and its future, “When you consider the power of the outdoors and its universal – and free – availability, there’s no health care investment that yields a better return,” Jarvis said.

National parks and all public lands and open space have enormous potential for our good health but we need to move beyond potential, Jarvis said. “The National Park Service is engaged in a wide-ranging effort to bring the outdoors into the public discussion about public health and to expand alternatives for Americans seeking a more active lifestyle, making choices about nutrition or reawakening their relationship with nature.”

National Park Service actions include:

* A pilot program with concessioners in select parks to offer nutritious, locally grown food. It encourages healthy eating habits and sustains the local economy.

* “Park Prescriptions.” Partnerships with local health care providers who actually prescribe a park visit to get patients outside to exercise and get the benefits of sun and fresh air. Three national parks – Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, Indiana Dunes and Golden Gate – are participating so far.

Jarvis said local, regional and state parks are also part of the greater outdoors health resource. The National Park Service, for 45 years, has helped communities develop local places where residents can get physical exercise through its Rivers and Trails and Conservation Assistance Program. “In Little Rock, Arkansas we partnered with the city and doctors to establish a trail known as the Medical Mile that offers not only a waterfront view but exhibits and media with a focus on health and exercise.”

The connection of people and nature is at the center of the worldwide Healthy Parks, Healthy People movement. Last spring, the National Park Service hosted the Healthy Parks, Healthy People – US conference to discuss ways to address America’s human and environmental health challenges.

The actions and partnerships Jarvis describes are part of a five-year plan – A Call to Action – to prepare the National Park Service for its second century of stewardship when the bureau turns 100 in 2016. http://www.nps.gov/CallToAction

Given the unprecedented challenges we face, the future demands not only a new way of looking at the natural world and our place in it, but an understanding of how our physical well-being is tied to that of the environment.

“Parks are going to be a critical factor in this equation,” Jarvis said. “For the health of the human species and of the global ecosystem that supports us, we need to reach back to what our rural forbears instinctively knew: That we are part of the natural world, that it sustains us in ways that are profound and absolutely essential, that whether we’re aware of it or not, there is a part of us that is always outdoors.”


Jeff
Hiking in Glacier.com

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