Addressing National Parks maintenance will create Montana jobs

Montana’s National Parks brought in 7.4 million visitors last year. It was the busiest year on record for Glacier National Park and the second busiest for Yellowstone.

Those visitors spent an estimated half billion dollars in gateway communities in Montana, supporting 9,500 jobs. There is simply no doubt Montana’s National Parks are a significant economic boon for our state.

But that windfall could soon go away if the widespread maintenance needs of our National Parks are not addressed. Maintenance funding has not kept pace with rapidly expanding visitation, and repairs to roads, water systems, buildings, and other assets that should be completed get put off year after year.

REP. WENDY MCKAMEY

http://helenair.com/opinion/columnists/addressing-national-parks-maintenance-will-create-montana-jobs/article_59dd354a-6286-504d-bba9-49c80a7428c8.html