“Pave paradise and put up a parking lot” seems less like a catchy song lyric and more like a bleak reality.
A report from the National Parks Conservation Association warns that Congress must spend about $100 million in land purchases during the 2009 fiscal year to help preserve the beauty of about 55 national parks. The report also states about $1.9 billion should be spent, using the federal Land and Water Conservation Fund, to purchase a total of about 1.8 million acres by the Park Service’s centennial in 2016.
The group is referring to the mix of publicly and privately owned property within many parks’ boundaries — from Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in northern Michigan to the Petrified Forest National Park in Arizona. Some of these privately owned parcels might fall into the hands of companies and developers if the price is right and the government is slow to act.
What could result is the extinction of great historical monuments and a great American tradition.
The national parks many of us visited as children during family vacations might not be there for our own. Even if many parks still exist but are mottled with some development, it would ruin the experience.
Imagine, if you can, a severely compromised park system. Enjoy the majestic view of condos near the Civil War battlefields in Gettysburg, Pa. Be sure to take in the hulking convention center amid the other beautiful sites at Zion National Park in Utah.
Hungry? Thirsty? Not to worry. There could be a McDonald’s and Starbucks near you at Yosemite National Park in California.
It doesn’t have the same effect.
If natural wonders and land aren’t preserved now, then they will likely be developed and lost forever. In a society that’s all too familiar with the environmental gospel of Academy Award-winner Al Gore in his “An Inconvenient Truth” documentary, we all know what dire consequences are sure to ensue. “Going green” isn’t just about recycling and driving less — preservation is a big part.
Depending on what administration is in office obviously determines how much funding is allocated to national parks and the environment as well.
Park Service funding was at its highest in 1999 — during former President Bill Clinton’s administration — but hit an all-time low in 2006 — during President Bush’s administration — the National Parks Conservation Association report shows. With Bush still in office, any available funding will most likely be spent on the military rather than parks.
But there’s hope. Years from now, maybe national parks will get the funding needed to preserve land. By that time, however, it could mean “rebuilding” ecosystems and manufacturing natural features that once existed. Guess how much it will cost then.
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