Debate over economic stimulus priorities hits Park Service

The economic stimulus package sent $750 million to the National Park Service -- and is sparking debate over the agency's priorities. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provides $15 million for historic preservation, $146 million for deferred maintenance and "critical repair and rehabilitation projects," and $589 million for replacing facilities and equipment and cleaning abandoned mine sites, among other things. But the law does not mention "natural resources," and that has some worried that the stimulus will be repairing park roads, rebuilding visitors centers and shoring up campgrounds. That would leave nothing for restoring wildlife habitat, tracking wildlife populations or battling invasive species. Rita Beard, an invasive species expert at the service, said that while the agency has a backlog of infrastructure problems to address, natural resource infrastructure must be shored up, as well...NY Times