Sen. Salazar Sails Through Confirmation Hearing

Sen. Salazar, D-Colorado.

The Obama administration's nominee for Interior secretary, U.S. Senator Ken Salazar, today sailed through his confirmation hearing. Along the way he spoke of supporting an economic stimulus package for the national parks.

“We know that there are over $2.5 billion of projects ready to go in our national park systems, so we hope to be able to address those in our recovery package,” he told members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee.

Among that $2.5 billion package are proposals for $1 million to repair the failing sewage system at Cuyahoga Valley National Park, $10 million for repairs at the historic Fort Jefferson at Dry Tortugas National Park, $9 million for repairs to roads and parking lots at Acadia National Park, $21.35 million for the ongoing rehabilitation of the Going-to-the-Sun Road at Glacier National Park.

You can find the entire package proposed by the National Parks Conservation Association in this pdf.

Although it's been described as a "stimulus" package, in truth many of these projects have been languished on the National Park Service's internal "to-do" list, waiting for an infusion of cash to pay for them.