Smaller budget chips away at Rainier
Visitors will begin to see the impact of a shrinking budget at Mount Rainier National Park this summer. Park officials have cut visitor center hours, eliminated some campfire programs and guided hikes, and printed fewer free handouts because of a shrinking budget heading into the busiest time of year.
Since 1997, managers at Mount Rainier have planned on having $275,000 less for operational expenses each year, said Dave Uberuaga, superintendent of Mount Rainier National Park. They will continue to do so for the next five years.
“That $275,000 is a lot when you consider you can pay for a whole seasonal work force for $500,000 a year,� he said.
Uberuaga discussed the park’s budget following Thursday’s release of a study by the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees. The group said its review of 37 national parks shows budget cuts have caused the parks to become less safe for visitors, the facilities less clean and the parks’ resources less protected.
While Olympic National Park was included in the study, Mount Rainier was not.
“The budget crisis in our parks is real and it will be felt keenly by park visitors this summer,� said Bill Wade, chairman of the coalition’s executive council.
Mount Rainier’s operational budget for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30 is $10.2 million, down 3 percent from last year. As a result, the park has opted to leave 13 full-time positions open, up from five last year. Those positions range from sign makers to the chief ranger to the chief of administration.
Those dollars instead are being spent to staff the park’s visitor centers, museums and campground, Uberuaga said.
“More than half of the seasonal interpretive work force, that’s $110,000, is being paid for by leaving other positions vacant. We’re paying for the visitor experience but you can’t be quite as effective as you can will a full cadre of your team.�
“What happens is you can get by, but you can’t move forward with projects. Those things have a cumulative impact in the long run,� Uberuaga said.
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Smaller budget chips away at Rainier
