Utah's U.S. parks trying to do more with less

Like their colleagues across the nation, managers of Utah's five national parks are having to find ways to do more with less.

But they say effects of a tighter federal budget, which doesn't show signs of shifting more funding toward preserving and maintaining the areas set aside for natural beauty or historical significance, will not impair visitors' experiences at the parks this summer.

"There's no doubt about it — in recent years inflation has taken its toll. We can't do as much with the money we have, but we're close," said Al Hendricks, superintendent of Capitol Reef National Park in southern Utah. "We haven't suffered too much."

The nation's 390 parks, preserves and historic sites that make up the 90-year-old national park system face tough choices as rising costs from labor, maintenance, operations and preservation exceed wartime budgets from Washington.

Capitol Reef is sometimes overshadowed by Utah's other national parks — Zion, Arches, Canyonlands and Bryce Canyon — but has the same budget pressures. Hendricks has a staff of about 25 permanent employees with 12 more seasonal workers.

He'd like more, but who wouldn't?

At Zion, about eight jobs are vacant and in limbo, with no timetable on when they could be filled again, public information officer Ron Terry said.

There are still about 200 workers — about half of whom are seasonal — to keep up the 229 square miles of towering cliffs and rugged canyons for an anticipated 2.6 million visitors this summer.

"We're finding that most everything we're currently doing is core to the mission. In order to keep doing those things, staffing is going to be the issue," Terry said. "While the budget in dollars shows an increase, there is erosion in what those dollars will purchase."

As in nearly every park, Zion has a list of backlogged projects that have no funding. Replacing outdated restrooms and repairing trailheads and boundary fences are on the pending list and will probably be for a while.

Zion has proposed a $5 increase in the entrance fees — currently $20 for a noncommercial vehicle — which could add about $300,000 to the maintenance fund if approved before the 2007 season, Terry said.

As one of Utah's most popular destinations, Zion can make the slight increase add up. But other areas in the state don't have that as an option.