FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 25, 2019
CONTACT:
Celestine Jeffreys, Chief of Staff, celestineje@greenbaywi.gov, 920-448-3005
Wisconsin Elected Leaders Urge Congress to Restore Our National Parks
(Green Bay, WI) - Mayor Eric Genrich joined over 400 local leaders across the country in calling on Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi to support legislation to address high-priority deferred maintenance in our national parks. The restorations would ensure that national parks continue to sustain tourism dollars, bolster local economies, and preserve our national treasures for years to come.
The Restore Our Parks Act in the Senate (S. 500) and the Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Act in the House (H.R. 1225) would fund $6.5 billion over the next five years to repair deteriorating historic buildings, crumbling roads, eroding trails, unkempt campgrounds, and outdated water and sewer systems. The full repair budget is $12 billion. The 1,200 mile Ice Age National Scenic Trail is one such National Park in the Greater Green Bay Area. The St. Croix National Scenic River way and the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore are other Wisconsin-based National Park Service properties that would benefit from improvements.
“I’m asking our leaders in Congress to move this legislation forward, so we can repair these beloved sites that are vital to our local and national identities, and are a key component of Wisconsin’s tourism economy,” said Mayor Genrich.
Restore Our Parks and Restore Our Parks and Public Lands Acts have support from nearly ½ of the Senate and over ¾ of the House of Representatives, including bipartisan support in Wisconsin from Senator Tammy Baldwin and Representatives Mike Gallagher, Ron Kind, Mark Pocan, and Jim Sensenbrenner.
In 2018, Wisconsin national parks sites drew 615,000 visitors who spent an estimated $56.3 million in local gateway regions. These expenditures supported a total of 869 jobs, $25.2 million in labor income, $43.4 million in value added, and $77.3 million in economic output in the Wisconsin economy.
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