President Obama's 2013 budget plan for the National Park Service would shed hundreds of full-time staff, curtail visitor services and fail to slow the growth of a roughly $11 billion maintenance backlog, park supporters warned today.

While the president's $2.6 billion budget request this week was just $1 million below current NPS funding levels, it proposed more than $20 million in cuts to base operations at the agency's nearly 400 units.

The reductions in park budgets would help pay for some important items, including research into how to gird parks for climate change, but they would also mean a net reduction of 218 full-time rangers and other Park Service staff, said the National Parks Conservation Association. The agency currently employs more than 20,000.

The agency's $2.3 billion request for operations is actually an increase of $13.5 million above current funding levels. But much of that money would shift to activities like security during the next presidential inauguration, a new business management system, and water and sewer service in Washington, D.C.

In addition, the budget calls for an additional $5 million for a total of $8 million to fund climate monitoring systems and adaptation strategies for land, water and wildlife.

"The reductions in park budgets are helping to pay for some important items, such as research into how to protect park resources in the face of climate change," said Craig Obey, senior vice president for government affairs at NPCA.

But he warned that park rangers, interpreters and maintenance staff are critical to ensuring that parks remain world-class tourist destinations and continue to sustain local jobs. The budget proposal conflicts with the president's recent creation of a travel and competitiveness task force to promote domestic and international tourism at national parks, he said.

Park Service Director Jon Jarvis in a statement yesterday said he recognizes "the value the 397 national parks provide all Americans -- as places of introspection and recreation and as economic engines that create jobs and help our gateway communities thrive."

"In 2010, national park visitors -- 281 million of them -- were responsible for a $31 billion impact on the nation's economy," he said. "From motel rooms to gas for the car and souvenirs, visitor spending supported more than 258,400 American jobs."

The agency's budget overview says the operations cuts "will be applied strategically to minimize the impact on the visitor experience and park resources." But it, too, calculates nearly 200 full-time jobs being lost.

The Park Service proposal is part of an $11.4 billion Interior Department budget that outlines steep cuts to conservation and land acquisition, including a departmentwide freeze on new construction. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar called the spending plan "a very tough and painful budget for me personally" (E&ENews PM, Feb. 13).

Park advocates said they are also concerned with a proposal to cut $24 million from the NPS construction budget, which would reduce spending from $155 million to $131 million. Those levels won't come close to stopping the continued growth of what is likely an $11 million maintenance backlog, said John Garder, budget and appropriations legislative representative for NPCA.

The construction budget, which helps fund projects like roads, visitor centers and wastewater treatment facilities, has already been slashed by $300 million, or two-thirds, during the last decade, the group said. Budget requests for construction have declined more then 35 percent since Obama came to office.

Jarvis last year told lawmakers his agency would need $325 million appropriated each year just to keep pace with maintenance needs. More would be needed to reduce the backlog (E&E Daily, March 10, 2011).

The agency's budget said construction funding would go only to the highest-priority projects that are critical to visitor and employee health and safety. It does not propose funding for any new buildings.

Construction was cut departmentwide at Interior by $49 million, or 16 percent below current funding levels, to $256 million.

The Park Service budget did include a $2.5 million boost to the Land and Water Conservation Fund, a program that allows agencies to purchase federal lands and promote urban recreation. The budget includes $60 million for LWCF state conservation grants, including a competitive program that would focus on larger-scale urban landscapes and collaborative conservation.

"With ongoing threats of development within the borders of our national treasures, we're pleased to see a continuing investment, but that's in the context of a budget that already falls well short of the need," Obey said.

In addition, the Obama budget maintains level funding for the rivers and trails conservation assistance program at $10 million and the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $300 million, NPCA said. The proposal also funnels $246 million in much-needed funds from multiple agencies to the restoration of the Everglades, it said.