Yellowstone named on most endangered national park list

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3956533/

'Most endangered' national parks list released
Group pleads for funds, protection policies

MSNBC staff and news service reports
Updated: 12:14 p.m. ET Jan. 14, 2004A conservation group dedicated to
preserving national parks on Wednesday released its annual list of
most endangered parks, criticizing the Bush administration and
Congress for what it says is a spiral of decay across the country.

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"Our national heritage deserves attention as much as the space
program," National Parks Conservation Association President Thomas
Kiernan said in a statement accompanying the list. "Four years ago,
Candidate Bush promised to 'restore and renew' our national parks.

"It's time for Congress and the administration to follow through on
that pledge," he said, by increasing the National Park Service $2.3
billion budget by $600 million to make up for operating shortfalls.

Bush policies criticized
The NPCA also claimed that Bush administration policies are
undermining national parks, among them regulations that could lead to
new roadbuilding in parks and "changes to the Clean Air Act that allow
outdated smokestack industries to continue operating without modern
pollution controls," thus spewing air pollution that often ends up
over national parks.

"Our national parks are the soul of America, protecting and
celebrating our country's core values and treasures," Kiernan added.
"As such, our parks deserve our utmost respect."

The group has a long tradition of partnering with the Park Service,
which responded in general terms. "We'll look at what they have to
say, and see how it compares with what our research is showing, and
with how we're addressing many of the issues they raise," said Park
Service spokeswoman Elaine Sevy.

New entries
The NPCA list had four new entries from last year:

Biscayne National Park in Florida, due to overfishing and water
pollution.
Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in Arizona, from lack of money for
protecting plants and wildlife.
Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve in Alaska, because of land
scarred from ATV use and potential road-building.
National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom Program, cited for
inadequate money for preserving the history of slavery and the civil
rights movement.
The four they replaced are Denali National Park and Preserve in
Alaska; Virgin Islands National Park; Glacier National Park in
Montana; and Ocmulgee National Monument in Georgia. The NPCA said
progress was being made to protect those parks.

Repeat parks
Six areas remained on the list: Big Thicket National Preserve in Texas
as well as five national parks. They a Great Smoky Mountains in
North Carolina and Tennessee; Joshua Tree in California; Shenandoah in
Virginia; Everglades in Florida; and Yellowstone in Wyoming, Montana
and Idaho.

The group said other problems include private land sales and potential
oil and gas drilling in Big Thicket; development along park borders in
Joshua Tree; non-native species damage in Shenandoah; management and
funding questions in the Everglades; and lack of money and bison
slaughters in Yellowstone.