DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif.-
The black holes that dot the sun-baked mountainsides of this California desert worry J.T. Reynolds, superintendent of Death Valley National Park.
Reynolds worries that tourists will tumble down the decrepit shafts or vanish into the rocky tunnels that abound in the park's famed Gold Rush-era mines and ghost towns.
To make some 6,000 shafts and caves completely safe would take money that Reynolds does not have.
"Most visitors do not realize that park resources have been under threat from deterioration, vandalism, neglect and rot for some time," Reynolds said.
Across the 390 parks, preserves and historic sites that make up the 90-year-old national park system, Reynolds' colleagues face similar tough choices as rising costs from labor, maintenance, operations and preservation exceed wartime budgets from Washington.
For example:
–Alaska's Denali National Park has cut campfire talks and ranger interpretation programs by 50 percent over five years.
–Four out of 10 historic buildings at Gettysburg's hallowed battlefields in Pennsylvania and the neighboring Eisenhower National Historic Site are in poor or serious condition.
–65 percent of park roads are in poor to fair condition.
–Campgrounds and visitor centers at Blue Ridge National Parkway opened a month late this year to save money.
— When winter rain visits Death Valley, the bucket comes out near the visitor center cash register. Before the leaky ceiling got a temporary patch job, a soggy chunk landed on a woman paying her entrance fee.
Some parks have received $4.7 billion in long-awaited money from the Bush administration for decaying roads and structures that were on maintenance backlog lists for years.
But managers at many parks report they are losing ground in maintaining and protecting their current resources while facing increased costs for security, workers, energy and the crush of 270 million annual visitors.
The Interior Department says it believes the parks have fared better than many federal agencies during a time of war and budget constraints.
"Our parks are in better shape than they were 10 years ago. We've completed over 6,000 maintenance projects," said Lynn Scarlett, who was recently acting secretary. "We've just about tripled the science money spent in parks."
It's not such a rosy picture at all parks.
Managers at Yosemite National Park in California said the operating budget is 32 percent short of park needs.
"If the park continues on its current vector, irreplaceable natural and cultural resources will be placed at risk: Severely underfunded activities include maintaining historic architecture and controlling invasive plant and animal species," the park managers wrote in their latest business plan.
The future appears even more uncertain. President Bush wants the government to cover just 70 percent of the parks' anticipated payroll and utility costs in 2007, down from 100 percent this year.
That has left parks scrambling for alternate sources of money, such as charitable donations.
Philanthropic groups spent more than $60 million on parks last year, doubling their contribution of a decade ago, said Curt Buchholtz, president of the National Parks Friends Alliance. Such donations helped pay for enhancements such as the $13.5 million Yosemite Falls entrance.
But billions are ultimately needed.
"The frustration we have is we are in a budgetary decline and it's harder to do operations in the field, and philanthropy is not going to be the answer to that," said Jon Jarvis, the Park Service's Pacific West regional director.
Many parks have raised fees or are considering increases at their entry gates, campsites and boat ramps.
This year, 21 of the 147 parks that charge fees raised their rates an average of $1 per person and $5 per car.
Park supervisors appreciate the recent money to clear backlogs. Fort Scott National Historic Site in Kansas received a $90,000 boost in 2005 that pulled the park operating budget out of the red, and received money for 12 roofs plus work on chimneys, walkways and a security alarm system.
"The park's in much better shape than it was six years ago," superintendent John Daugherty said.
But most park managers worry that solving yesterday's problems without enough money for today's maintenance only creates new backlogs for tomorrow. Some parks report daily operating budget shortfalls in excess of 50 percent.
"Sooner or later the repair is beyond the capability of our operating budget. The leaking roof you had now becomes a failing roof that has to be replaced," said Gettysburg National Military Park superintendent John Latscher. He estimates the park's backlog at $43 million.
The director of the Park Service, Fran Mainella, dismisses some worries, saying estimates of some daily operating shortfalls resemble a wish list of work that could be done rather than urgent priorities that must be accomplished.
Adds Interior's Scarlett: "Our park employees love what they do with a passion. They've got imagination. They've got great visions for the future. But it's not appropriate to think of that as an operative shortfall."
Reynolds winced as he described the trade-offs he has made at Death Valley. Just 15 rangers now patrol 3.4 million California acres, a four-person crew maintains 1,000 miles of paved and dirt roads, and the park has reduced restroom cleaning schedules.
"It is one frustrating juggling act," he said.
Unable to pay for salary increases imposed by Congress, parks are doing without positions: a botanist for Death Valley, a canon preservationist at Gettysburg, a trained curator for Big Bend's 125,000-item collection of American Indian and Texas Republic artifacts.
"We are frequently getting new items and nobody with the credentials to do that right," Big Bend superintendent John King said.
At other parks:
–Hikers in Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona encounter mounds of trash where illegal immigrants and drug dealers cross from Mexico. Superintendent Kathy Billings said work on cleanup, potholes and painting suffers while her ranger force, with $1 million-a-year in extra money, devotes 75 percent of its time to the illegal border crossings. The visitor center is now shuttered most holidays.
–Blue Ridge Parkway's maintenance staff in Virginia is operating at two-thirds strength, meaning less grass mowing, restroom cleaning and trail clearing, superintendent Phil Francis said.
–Point Reyes National Seashore in California has cut ranger-led programs by 500, to 1,300 a year.
