Kaitlyn Kincaid speaks Thursday, August 18, 2016 while interviewed at the Chattanooga Times Free Press.From the trails of Signal Mountain to the ancient Moccasin Bend to the battlefields of Chickamauga, we enjoy the blessings of the National Park Service.
Our own vast Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park is a part of the National Park System, which celebrates its 100th anniversary today. That marks a century of commitment to preserving precious lands.
Among those lands are the 12 national parks in Tennessee, including the most visited one in the nation - the Great Smoky Mountains. Visitors flock to Tennessee to drive through the Smokies, to hike our piece of the Appalachian Trail, and to honor our history on the battlefields at Shiloh, Stone's River, and nearby Chickamauga.
So, Tennessee has a vested interest - mostly through our heritage, but also through our economy - in the National Park System. When tourists visit our state's national parks, they spend millions in our local economies. In 2014, almost 8.5 million people came to Tennessee's national parks, spending more than $570 million in those gateway communities.
But these days, parks are long overdue for badly needed repairs, due to unreliable congressional funding and aging infrastructure. As a result, there is a systemwide backlog of maintenance projects totaling an estimated $12 billion, and nearly $300 million in Tennessee alone.
That matters to Tennesseans in communities whose economies are built on the tourism business at the parks. Just ask those with small businesses in Gatlinburg, Pigeon Forge, Sevierville, Townsend and Newport how important the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is to them.
Outdoor recreation is a major factor in their economies, as it is in Chattanooga. At our local hostel, Crashpad Chattanooga, we rely on visitors who come here for the outdoor opportunities.
During 2013, the Outdoor Industry Association said outdoor recreation in Tennessee generated $8.2 billion in consumer spending, 83,000 jobs, $2.5 billion in wages and salaries, and $535 million in tax revenue.
On its 100th anniversary, the National Park Service shouldn't be struggling to address a huge maintenance backlog that includes deteriorating roads and bridges, closed trails, and neglected historic sites that keep families from enjoying the parks to their fullest. The agency should be able to launch into its next century with the resources necessary to maintain the national treasures its mandated to protect in perpetuity.
Join me in calling on our lawmakers to do right by our national parks. Urge them to establish dedicated federal funding and set policies that provide long-term stability for the National Park Service. Tell them private-sector support should complement congressional funding, not replace it.
Of course, it is not all about money - it is about our heritage. But safeguarding that legacy requires sound financial planning.
Noted author Ken Burns said this of the national parks:
"When we say 'My country 'tis of thee' - it's my country. Are we talking about city streets? Are we talking about industrial cities? No. We're talking about the land we have, and there's so very little of it that's unspoiled or that doesn't have a fence through it. Here in these special places that we've resolved together as a people to preserve, we feel a sense of commonality."
That matters now and for the next 100 years. It is certainly worth investing in.
Kaitlyn Kincaid works at the Crashpad Chattanooga hostel.