Preserving our Parks on Memorial Day

Preserving our Parks on Memorial Day
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Antietam National Battlefield Park

Antietam National Battlefield Park

Copyright © National Trust for Historic Preservation

Memorial Day is a time for preservationists, and all Americans, to reflect and celebrate our soldiers and servicemen. To help honor their legacy, preservationists dedicate themselves to protecting the places where Americans fought for our county, as well as the many places that memorialize their service and sacrifice. From Antietam National Battlefield in Maryland to Hawaii’s Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial, historic preservation helps to safeguard our battlefields and memorial sites, allowing us to reflect upon and harness our nation’s stories.

The National Park Service (NPS) oversees 413 natural, historic and cultural places in every corner of the U.S. and most of its territories. The National Park System tells the story of remarkable people and events through its sweeping collection of sites. Many of these are military sites to commemorate generations of men and women who served our country in the armed services, including the Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, Pa.; Fort McHenry in Baltimore, Md.; the Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site in Tuskegee, Ala.; Saratoga National Historical Park in Saratoga, N.Y.; Vicksburg National Military Park in Vicksburg, Miss; General Grant National Memorial in New York City and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Increasingly, however, the Park Service faces significant challenges to adequately maintain these places. After decades of underfunding, NPS’s infrastructure repair backlog is estimated at $12 billion (FY 2015), including $3 billion attributed to historic, non-transportation structures and sites.

More than half of the National Park Service’s assets are in need of repairs, yet its budget has been reduced by 40 percent over the past decade. Some of the National Park Service’s most significant historic sites are at risk of falling into disrepair. For example, Gettysburg requires $51 million in repairs. And combined, Antietam, Vicksburg, and Saratoga military sites need $53 million in repairs. Without these long-overdue repairs, these sites will continue to decline.

Historic and cultural sites in the National Park System teach us about our nation’s valor, hardships, victories, and our American traditions. These sites drive our economy and preserve our history, but deferring their maintenance could cause our historic sites permanent damage or even loss. In an April 2016 survey conducted by Public Opinion Strategies/The Pew Charitable Trusts, 44 percent of respondents ranked preservation of historic and cultural sites and monuments as their top priority for repair in the national parks, above every other type of infrastructure repair.

New, bipartisan legislation has been introduced in both houses of Congress that would address this problem by creating a dedicated federal funding stream for national park maintenance. The National Park Service Legacy Act would dedicate time and investments to repairing NPS’s roads, facilities, and park structures.

We must ensure that we preserve historic buildings and sites, because our nation deserves infrastructure that is safe and serviceable. Our parks must remain open and accessible, so the public will continue to learn and experience these places that tell our nation’s history. Our National Park System celebrates our historic and natural treasures, and we have a responsibility to ensure our parks are maintained and preserved so future generations can continue to enjoy and learn from them.

These Senators and Representatives, Democrats and Republicans, have come up with a way to save our park system, and we urge all of Congress to join this coalition and pass this must-needed legislation. Doing so will ensure that our distinctive history remains an important and viable part of our future.

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