Interior Secretary Gale Norton reaffirmed the Bush administration’s dedication to national park maintenance while speaking Friday in Portland, Ore.
Norton vowed $4.9 billion will be earmarked over the next five years to clean up a backlog of maintenance problems though out America’s national parks.
The backlog includes needed repairs to roads, bridges, and eroding trails as well as maintenance of historic buildings at parks across the nation, including Olympic and Mount Rainier national parks.
Just how much of that money would be dedicated to Olympic National Park has yet to be determined.
“There’s no break out for Olympic yet, but we’re still encouraged by the administrative support for the maintenance budget,” Olympic National Park Superintendent Dave Morris said Saturday.
But any additional funds for the 922,000-acre park would be music to his ears.
“Right now, were optimistic,” he said. “But we’ll take what we get.”
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