In 2018, more than 318 million people visited the roughly 400 National Park sites covering about 85 million acres in the U.S., according to the federal government. And while history, nature and outdoor recreation are the usual draws, advocates say visitors are being welcomed by crumbling roads, deteriorating buildings and outdated utility systems. Now Congress is considering measures to chip away at the backlog of deferred maintenance projects in the park system.
WAMC’s Jim Levulis spoke with Marcia Argust, the project director for the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Restore America’s Parks program, about the effort.
