Every year, national parks draw hundreds of millions of visitors from around the globe to experience the stories of remarkable people and events in our nation's rich history. The communities adjacent to the parks, known as “gateway communities,” are directly impacted by park visitation.

“National parks, with their iconic natural, cultural, and historic landscapes, represent the heart and soul of America,” said National Park Service Deputy Director P. Daniel Smith in the Department of the Interior's press release. “They are also a vital part of our nation's economy, especially for park gateway communities, where millions of visitors each year find a place to sleep and eat, hire outfitters and guides, and make use of other local services that help drive a vibrant tourism and outdoor recreation industry.”

The National Park Service (NPS) recently released their annual National Park Visitor Spending Effects report, detailing the economic impact of park visitation in 2018. According to the report, “more than 318 million visitors spent $20.2 billion in communities within 60 miles of a park in the National Park System. Of the 329,000 jobs supported by visitor spending, more than 268,000 jobs exist in the park gateway communities.”

While increased visitation brings an economic boost to these gateway communities, it also causes enormous wear and tear on national park facilities—many of which are already in need of repair. The NPS needs a reliable, dedicated federal funding source to address the existing deferred maintenance backlog of nearly $12 billion and to help maintain the buildings and infrastructure that are crucial to visitor safety and satisfaction.

Bipartisan legislation that will address these needs—the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act (H.R. 1225) in the House and the Restore Our Parks Act (S. 500) in the Senate—was re-introduced in February 2019. While the legislation is supported by more than 225 cosponsors in the House of Representatives and more than 35 in the Senate, we need more help. Join us in asking your Representative and Senators to cosponsor and support dedicated funding for our national parks and share on social media using #FixOurParks.