Guest Column

Visitors come from around the world to enjoy Bend, Oregon. That is no surprise to us who live here and enjoy the quality of life, culture, natural beauty and sense of community. Our city has so much to offer guests who enjoy world-class shopping, entertainment and lodging as they use our community as a home base to explore the far reaches of our state.

What folks may not know is that our city serves as a launching pad for visitors to explore Oregon’s natural wonders, particularly Crater Lake National Park and John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. These sites are some of Oregon’s greatest treasures. Crater Lake with its stunning beauty is less than two hours away. The Fossil Beds, with amazing scenery that is matched by its archaeological significance, is also roughly two hours away. Locals and visitors alike are lucky to have these wonders within striking distance and, with April 21 marking the start of National Park Week, it is important for us to take a moment to reflect on what Oregonians can do to preserve these assets that give so much to our city and our state.

The question of preserving our national parks has never been so pressing. The National Park System has maintenance needs totaling $11.6 billion, largely due to aging infrastructure and inconsistent funding. The estimated price tag to address repairs within park sites in Oregon is over $105 million. These repairs include eroding trails, neglected historic buildings, crumbling roads, outdated campgrounds, and degraded water and electrical systems. They can make park sites inaccessible and unsafe, threaten historic resources, and negatively affect local economies like Bend and all of Central Oregon that benefit greatly from national park visitors.

Crater Lake, with over 755,000 visitors a year — has a deferred maintenance backlog of over $85 million, while John Day Fossil Beds (over 210,000 visitors a year) has deferred maintenance needs of more than $1.5 million.

For residents of Bend and local communities near both parks, Crater Lake and John Day Fossil Beds are much more than natural and recreational havens. They feed our businesses and local economies as visitor dollars help create jobs and generate sizable tax revenues. Based on 2016 data, over one million visitors to Oregon’s national parks spent $97.5 million in local communities. That spending supported 1,640 jobs and added a cumulative benefit of $138.4 million to the state economy — money that helps businesses, schools and families.

Protecting Oregon’s national parks is critical to preserving our history, shared culture and economy; Congress must act to give these parks the funds they need to keep up with growing visitation.

The good news is that our Oregon delegation understands the need. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici and Sen. Jeff Merkley are co-sponsors of the National Park Service Legacy Act, which would dedicate federal funds to national park maintenance. Rep. Kurt Schrader is the chief co-sponsor of the National Park Restoration Act, another bill that addresses park maintenance challenges. We fully anticipate that the rest of the delegation, especially Rep. Greg Walden, who represents our city, and communities directly outside of Crater Lake and Fossil Beds, also will support efforts to protect our national parks.

Thousands of local and national groups like ours — businesses, tourism associations, lodging companies, recreation and conservation advocates, veterans, infrastructure proponents, unions, and municipalities — are calling on Congress to dedicate more resources to restore and maintain our parks.

Our delegation’s commitment to restore parks will preserve these national treasures for generations to come, create jobs and protect local and state economies that depend on parks for their livelihood. On behalf of the Bend City Council, Jerry Freilich (retired from the National Park Service), Oregon Natural Desert Association, Visit Bend, Old Mill District, Les Schwab Amphitheater, Wall Street Suites and Bluebird Day Vacation Rentals, we thank them for their leadership.

— Nathan Boddie is a Bend city councilor.