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Blue Ridge suffers from under-staffing |
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Tuesday, 06 March 2007 |
Editor’s Note: This is the second of a five-part series on the Blue Ridge Parkway.
by NICK IANNIELLO
News Reporter
The Blue Ridge Parkway has been a staple of East Coast mountain life since its construction during the Great Depression, but funding problems have caused a severe staffing deficiency in recent years.
Currently, 57 of the parkway’s 237 positions – nearly one in four – are
vacant and will not be filled unless a funding hole of nearly $3
million is filled, Joe Aull, parkway administrator, said.
There are currently only 34 rangers to respond to traffic incidents and deaths on the entire length of the
parkway, according to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, a non-profit group that helps fund the parkway.
Aull said while not all of these positions need to be filled due to recent efficiencies, this is still a serious problem.
“Most every position on the parkway is doing the work of two people,” Bambi Teague, parkway chief of resource management, said.
While maintenance costs of the parkway have gone up each year due to
inflation, pay raises and new programs, the parkway’s budget has only
risen 0.5 percent between 1980 and 2006.
“Across the board, most of the parks in the [National Parks system] are
hitting the wall,” Aull said. “Our operating shortfall is growing each
year.”
The parkway also needs to lose 10 to 12 more employees this year to remain under budget, Teague said.
According to the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation’s Web site, certain
facilities like campgrounds and picnic areas open later in the spring
than usual, downed trees sometimes take weeks to clear from the road,
some vistas are overgrown, and the parkway’s mowing schedule is greatly
reduced.
If President George W. Bush’s new budget is approved for 2008, the
parkway can expect an 11 percent increase to help prepare for the 100th
anniversary of the National Parks system in 2016.
While this budget increase will help the parkway, it is designed to
hire seasonal employees and will not be a permanent solution.
“It would be nice if that could happen several years in a row,” Aull said.
In 2006, there were more than 21 million visitors to the parkway who generated more than $2.2 billion in tourism profits.
The parkway relies on several organizations for monetary and volunteer
help. The Friends of the Parkway provide volunteers, the Blue Ridge
Parkway Foundation provides funds, and Eastern National is in charge of
all of the book sales for the parkway.
While these groups do not provide operational funds, they help run programs on the parkway and provide public advocacy.
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