Americas National Parks: Upkeep Required

Published: April 19, 2017, 1:26 p.m.

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More than 331 million visits were made to America\\u2019s national parks last year\\u2014to hike stunning trails, drive scenic roads, and climb stairs in historic structures. But as the number of visitors has been growing, so have the maintenance needs for those trails, roads, and buildings. In this episode, The Pew Charitable Trusts explores that backlog of maintenance, which now totals more than $11.9 billion. Host Dan LeDuc speaks with Marcia Argust, director of Pew\\u2019s campaign to restore America\\u2019s parks; Phil Francis, a retired Blue Ridge Parkway superintendent who spent 40 years with the National Park Service (NPS); and Bryan Atchley, mayor of Sevierville, Tennessee, a gateway community to Great Smoky Mountains National Park. To learn more, visit pewtrusts.org/afterthefact. (Sounds of nature recorded by the NPS\\u2019 Jennifer Jerrett and Montana State University\\u2019s Acoustic Atlas.)

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