FORMER NATIONAL PARKS HEAD TO ADVISE CONGRESS:
'RAISE FEES, CLOSE OR PRIVATIZE PARKS, END DISCOUNTS'

NOTE: If you would like the complete, six-page text of James Ridenour's scheduled testimony before Congress March 13, contact Ellen Mathia at 812-855-0085

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- With America's national parks nearing what experts consider a state of crisis, a former National Park Service director has been asked to testify before Congress Thursday (March 13) about the reasons and some possible solutions.

James M. Ridenour admits his advice to Congress to close parks, raise user fees, end special group discounts, and privatize some parks and campgrounds "will be considered extreme and controversial. But the time has come for controversial ideas."

Now director of the Eppley Institute for Parks and Public Lands at Indiana University, Ridenour was director of the National Park Service from 1989 to 1993, and since then has continued an active role in discussions with federal officials on park policy. He has been an outspoken critic of the recent designation of thousands of acres to the national system that he believes should be operated by state and local governments.

His testimony Thursday in Washington will affirm the opinion of other experts that the nation's parks are "eroding into mediocrity and slipping deeper into disrepair." In his opinion, the Park Service is "loaded with pork barrel projects. It doesn't take a genius to (see) how some of these sites came into existence."

The resulting strain on the system is why "roads in Yellowstone are falling apart," he will testify. "Water, sewer and utilities are in bad shape across the system. The maintenance backlog estimates range from $2 billion to $8 billion, and the numbers are only getting bigger." His proposed solution is a combination of increasing revenues and decreasing expenditures.

"Having less than deserving park sites on the national payroll is the single most costly issue," he will say. "There are other possibilities, but they are drops in the bucket compared to this.

"I want to make it clear that most of the sites I would list (for withdrawal from federal status) have tremendous value to the areas where they're located," his planned testimony continues. "However, their national significance is in question. I am a strong advocate of state and local parks. I think most people served by park programs in this country are served by state and local parks, and the state and local governments should manage them."

As for higher user fees, Ridenour says they're overdue. "You can't take a family of four to a first-run movie and treat them to a snack or two nearly as cheaply as you can take that same family through the gates of our great national parks." He believes people would pay the increase "as long as they're confident it's going back to the park. I predict unhappy voters unless the push for higher fees results in visible improvement in the parks."

Fee waivers for certain groups are also a drain on potential revenues, Ridenour will testify. "Much of the disposable income in this country is held by those 50 to 65 years old, and I've talked with large numbers of seniors who are willing to pay more to support our parks. It would be symbolic that everyone is giving a fair share." Ridenour predicts the American Association of Retired Persons "would violently object to this, but I'm not sure most seniors would."

Ridenour further believes that the trend toward privatization of some government functions should also be applied to certain park services and facilities. "Most campers don't care who picks up the trash, cleans the restrooms, or runs the utility and sewer systems; they just want a nice camping experience. I suggest we look at privatizing many, if not most, of the campground operations in the national parks, while keeping the educational programs and nature hikes with the NPS. The public loves these programs and they shouldn't be changed."

The National Park Service administers and operates the 368 national park sites (such as Yellowstone and Yosemite), national monuments (such as the Lincoln, Washington and Jefferson sites in Washington, D.C.), memorials (including battlefields), national landmarks (such as the White House), archaeological sites, entertainment centers (such as Kennedy Center and Wolf Trap) and historic preservation regulation and permits.

For more information, contact Ellen K. Mathia, emathia@indiana.edu or call her at 812-855-0085 or 812-855-3911.

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