The Biden-Harris administration submitted to Congress the President's National Park Service (NPS) budget proposal for fiscal year 2025. The $3.57 billion budget request balances investments in key priorities with necessary funding for day-to-day operation of the National Park System, while maintaining fiscal responsibility and adhering to tight budget constraints.
“This request speaks to the heart of what the National Park Service does every day, ensuring Americans and visitors from around the world are able to benefit from the resources we protect while working within the budget constraints we face today,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said. “The budget addresses critical challenges like supporting a strong workforce; strengthening climate resilience in parks and communities; sharing the complete story of America; and ensuring access to parks for generations to come.”
The budget proposal supports fundamental operational needs at all parks, rivers, and trails and addresses staffing needs for new responsibilities. Modest, targeted funding increases in the FY 2025 budget request provide for Federal employee pay requirements, and critical capacity and support for law enforcement. It also supports increased funding for regular cyclic maintenance, essential in preventing future, more expensive, deferred maintenance costs. Critically, the proposal invests more than $100 million in housing needs for NPS employees across multiple fund sources. Housing for employees in and near national parks is increasingly scarce and expensive, reflecting a trend impacting communities across the country, creating long commutes and making it difficult for NPS to recruit and retain employees. The proposed budget also invests in essential information technology systems.
The NPS not only serves a vital role safeguarding irreplaceable natural wonders and connecting Americans to our past and each other but is also a critical driver of economic activity for small businesses and communities across the nation. The National Park Service welcomed 325.5 million visitors in 2023. In 2022, visitors spent $23.9 billion in local park gateway areas. The FY 2025 budget also allocates funding for transformative infrastructure investments under the Great American Outdoors Act, which authorized up to $6.65 billion for the NPS over five years to address crucial and long needed maintenance backlog and repair projects in national parks.
Notable investments in the FY 2025 budget request for the National Park Service:
- More than $100 million in housing needs for NPS employees across multiple fund sources
- Continued start-up costs for parks recently added to the National Park System, like Emmett Till and Mamie Till-Mobley National Historic Site, Blackwell School National Historic Site, New Philadelphia National Historic Site, the Summerton Site expansion at Brown v. Board of Education National Historical Park, and Amache National Historic Site
- Implementing important new requirements of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act
- Funding for cyclic maintenance to prevent future deferred maintenance
- Supporting youth corps programs that create enriching jobs for young people
- Assessing climate change vulnerabilities so the national parks and their supporting infrastructure can adapt