In the wake of a General Accounting Office report describing the National Park Service as "suffering from a diffuse management style that lacks accountability," Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyo., has proposed a massive national parks restoration plan that would privatize park services, create a new entrance fee system and require the agency to develop a new management strategy.
"As with any organization that is pushed and pulled without clear leadership, the National Park Service is beginning to reach the breaking point," said Thomas, who chairs the Senate Energy Committee's Subcommittee on National Parks, Historic Preservation and Recreation.
The Park Service currently faces a $2.2 billion backlog in road and bridge repair, a $1.5 billion backlog of building and maintenance repair and over $800 million in natural resource management projects that have gone unfunded.
Thomas' plan proposes to create revenue by increasing entrance fees at the nation's parks and establishing a system by which parks would issue bonds. He also suggested "looking to the private sector for monetary help."
"In this time of diminishing budgets, we can no longer exclusively rely on the appropriations process to address infrastructure and repair needs in the system," Thomas said.
To improve management, Thomas said the Park Service should develop a strategic plan that establishes "measurable policy goals" and management guidelines.
"Without quantifiable management goals and a general plan to hold the service accountable for its performance, the organization will continue to be plagued by ineffective management decisions," Thomas stated in the report.
He also recommended the use of private contractors to provide services ranging from laundry to road repair.
The plan also recommends the Park Service look to the private sector to negotiate, implement and enforce the terms and conditions of concession contracts. This strategy, Thomas said, will allow employees to focus on the needs of the parks rather than the technical aspects of inspecting food service facilities and negotiating business contracts.
In the report, Thomas cautioned against adding new units to the park system, because it would "stretch an already overburdened organization even further."
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