National Parks problems

From CS Monitor comes this article on the current state of the National Parks system. bq. National Parks fast falling into disrepair Leaky lodge roofs. Potholed roads. Beaches closed for lack of a lifeguard. Not enough rangers in their Smokey Bear hats teaching kids about flora and fauna. bq. It's not a picture Americans want to imagine for their national parks - the "crown jewels" often likened to European cathedrals. bq. But as the nation approaches the year's first holiday weekend when families head for the mountains, seashore, and battlefield monuments, there's a groundswell of concern (bordering on revolt) among current and retired US Park Service employees over the condition of national parks. Some specific examples: * Hikers cannot reach backcountry cabins at Mount Rainier National Park in Washington State because necessary bridges and trails need repair. * Large sections of a historic lighthouse and Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park in South Florida are unsafe. * The visitor center at the USS Arizona Memorial in Hawaii is sinking. * Yosemite National Park needs more than $40 million for backlogged projects, including trail and campground maintenance, sewer system replacement, and electrical upgrades. * Ancient stone structures are collapsing at Chaco Culture National Historical Park in New Mexico. * At Yellowstone, 150 miles of roads have not been repaired in years, and many of the park's several hundred buildings are in poor condition. And the Park Service itself? bq. The National Park Service is a mammoth organization. With some 20,000 professionals and 125,000 volunteers, it oversees 388 parks, monuments, battlefields, historic sites, lakeshores, recreation areas, scenic rivers and trails, and the White House. The number of park units has nearly doubled since 1970, and annual visits now total nearly 300 million. All of this costs some $2.3 billion a year.