national parks campground facilities may see upgrades

A proposal, calling for the modernization of campground space within the massive National Parks system, is currently being reviewed by the Department of the Interior.

The proposal, as formulated by the Interior Department’s Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, is calling for the redesign of some of the parks’ campground space, along with the building-out of family sites, and installation of Wi-Fi.

In a letter to Secretary of the Interior Secretary David Bernard from Bill Yeargin, the chairman of the Outdoor Recreation Advisory Committee, it has also been suggested that an effort should be made to build new employee housing, “either on public lands or in gateway communities.”

“Small, cost-effective, and quickly constructed, easily retrofitted units could help solve staffing shortages on public lands,” Yeargin continued.  

Altogether, there are more than 1,400 campgrounds that are run by the Interior Department, but not every one of those facilities would be subject to an upgrade.

Earlier reports have indicated that the Interior Department is currently looking at up to $331 million in campground facility maintenance and repairs, out of a total overall national park backlog of $12 billion.

According to Interior Department statistics, more than 9.2 million people used the national parks’ campground facilities in 2018, with the Grand Canyon in Arizona and Rocky Mountains in Colorado as two of the most popular campground sites.

A decision regarding the campground upgrade proposal is expected to be announced before the end of the year.

By Garry Boulard

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