Spending bill includes $5 million for Sun Road reconstruction

Hungry Horse News

The holiday push to get a federal spending bill passed will mean millions for Glacier National Park projects.

The omnibus appropriations bill includes $5 million for continued work on the Going-to-the-Sun Road and a $95 million operating increase for all national parks, which should mean a hike for Glacier's budget as well.

Both increases were secured in the Senate by Montana Sen. Conrad Burns.

"Senator Burns is to be strongly commended for his leadership on this issue," said Tony Jewett, senior regional director for the nonpartisan National Parks Conservation Association. "Our nation's heritage rests within our national parks, and that heritage is endangered by insufficient funding."

"There's a lot to be proud of in this bill," said Burns. "Omnibus bills are notorious for including some unnecessary baggage, and some provisions that by themselves would never pass, but I feel overall we've got a pretty good bill here. You can never be completely happy, but Montana comes out on the positive side, and I'm glad to see it. Included in this bill is funding for numerous Montana projects, and will go to continue improving our communities and our industries across the state."

Local NPCA representative Steve Thompson referred to the funding as "taking a big bite out of the apple."

Glacier's operating budget in 2004 was down slightly from its operating budget in 2003. It's 2004 operating budget was $11.072 million.

The bill states that all 388 national park sites, including Glacier and Yellowstone, will receive, at a minimum, an increase of 5 percent for base operations. This brings the total National Park Service operating budget for fiscal year 2005 to $1.7 billion from $1.6 billion last year.

The bill passed the Senate 55-30 and has also passed the House. The President is expected to sign the measure.

The funding boost comes at a time when the Coalition of Concerned National Park Service Retirees has been harshly critical of the Bush administration for the way it has handled the Park Service and funding issues. Some Park Service employees have lost their jobs for speaking out on budget cuts.

Also included in the bill was $3 million for the U.S. Highway 93 bypass around Kalispell, $300,000 for the North Valley Hospital Foundation, $191,000 for pedestrian and bike trails in Whitefish, and $988,000 for the grizzly bear DNA study.

Yellowstone National Park also saw its fair share of funds, including $9.8 million for restoration of the Old House at Old Faithful and $2.68 million for a new courthouse at Mammoth Hot Springs. The bill also inserted language that allows for snowmobiling in Yellowstone this year.