A walk in the woods: Kaine looks to fund Shenandoah's needs
Sen. Tim Kaine did more than visit Shenandoah National Park on Monday.
The Democratic Virginia senator hiked to the summit of Stony Man Trail during the morning, spending more than a hour climbing up and walking down on a windy and cool day. While Kaine's visit was partly pleasure, he had a serious purpose on Monday.
An admirer of national parks since his youth in Missouri, Kaine is hopeful he can persuade Senate colleagues on the Budget Committee to appropriate additional funds for backlogged maintenance in America's national parks, including Shenandoah National.
"Let's do something good for the park system,'' said Kaine, who said the maintenance backlog includes replacing a bridge linking Washington and Arlington. Kaine and fellow Virginia Sen. Mark Warner have already encouraged the Senate to take a bite out of the $6 billion maintenance backlog in national parks across the country.
Jim Northup, superintendent of Shenandoah National, said the park's $90 million in deferred maintenance include repairs to roads, sidewalks and camping facilities. Northup was impressed with Kaine's visit on Monday. "He seems really committed. He's a user of national parks,'' Northup said.
All total in Virginia, the number runs even higher, to $816.3 million worth of deferred projects in the various parks. One of the largest involves the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which has $184.1 million in needed repairs to roads, bridges and tunnels, as well as the overlook system. It’s the same in Shenandoah National Park, with roads and the overlooks in need of repair, along with visitor centers, trails, campgrounds, drinking water systems and wastewater treatment areas. The biggest need is to repair paved roads, at a cost of $56.1 million in Shenandoah. Repair of unpaved roads total a cost of $6.4 million, with issues in the water systems requiring a $6 million renovation.
Coming out of the recession, Congress has tried to address the issues, but it’s a question of how much they can provide. This year, Congress gave the National Park Service an extra $90 million for non-transportation issues and an extra $28 million for transportation issues. Funds will continue to rise by $8 million per year for five years, until it reaches $300 million total per year in 2020. Specifically in Shenandoah this year, park officials want to repair the Mathews Arm Wastewater Treatment Plant, replace picnic tables, fire rings and upgrade the electrical system in some facilities.
Kaine's passion for national parks started in his youth when he and his parents visited the Ozarks National Park in Missouri and Arkansas. Later as Virginia's governor, he said he enjoyed hiking and visiting Shenandoah National Park.
He spent time mingling with park employees prior to and during the Monday hike. The senator said he attempts to "be an advocate for federal employees'' since there are so many working in the commonwealth. Kaine also thanked the employees for their efforts.
Kaine learned about the encroachment of deer wasting disease about 10 miles from the park's northern Front Royal border. He also was told about the environmental threats to a park species, the Shenandoah Salamander. The salamander faces threats from climate change.
And in addition to helping fund needed park maintenance, Kaine said it is important to celebrate 100 years of national parks in the United States. Shenandoah National is celebrating the 80th anniversary of its dedication this year, a dedication that attracted President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. And while it's a year of anniversaries, there's the future of national parks to consider as well.
"We have to get young people interested in the parks,'' said Kaine, who said stewardship of national parks will be left to today's young people.
