The cost of repairing everything from trails, shelters and bathrooms in America's national parks has nearly doubled to $22 billion since 2020, leading to angry lawmakers demanding to know why. 

What You Need To Know

  • The cost of repairing everything from trails, shelters and bathrooms in America's national parks has nearly doubled to $22 billion since 2020, leading to angry lawmakers demanding to know why

  • The House Committee for Natural Resources grilled National Park Services leaders on Tuesday, arguing that money reserved for repairs has not been distributed properly

  • "The exponentially increasing backlog at the National Park Service is unacceptable," said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., the chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands

  • According to one expert, considerable financial resources will be needed to restore infrastructure built many years ago

Sites at the National Park Service face a mountain of expenses, with sites like the Blue Ridge Parkway — the nation’s longest linear park — in need of $350 million in deferred maintenance or repair.

The House Committee for Natural Resources pressed the director of the National Park Services on Tuesday, arguing that money reserved for repairs has not been distributed properly.

"The exponentially increasing backlog at the National Park Service is unacceptable," said Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wisc., the chairman of the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. 

Under the Trump administration, Congress passed temporary legislation called the Great American Outdoors Act, which provided nearly $2 billion a year to combat deferred maintenance at the park service but the funding only lasts five years.

Republicans, blaming Democrats for “refusing to hold the NPS accountable” pressed the park service director on why costs continue to rise on Tuesday.

"While some larger projects at major national parks are important to address, smaller national projects have struggled to compete with funding," said Tiffany. 

According to one expert, considerable financial resources will be needed to restore infrastructure built many years ago. 

"A lot of infrastructure was built in the 1930s with the Civilian Conservation Corps, even dating older to that. It's hard to maintain that. It takes a lot of money," said Margaret Walls, a senior fellow at the nonprofit Resources for the Future.

The park service director told lawmakers the price tag jumped partly because the agency is more accurately estimating the cost of repairs and is trying to make some projects more lasting instead of quick fixes.

"We are finally using an industry standard that gives us a better picture …because we are able to better look at, and calculate it, that number did grow," Charles Sams, the National Park Service director, testified. 

Walls said if Congress doesn't pass a permanent increase in funding, other options may need to be considered.

"We could increase our entrance fees and other user fees," Walls explained. "People don't like that idea…but that's one approach. We could perhaps tax recreational equipment."