Local communities can’t keep national parks safe all on their own, Congress must help

America’s conservation legacy is second to none. There is no greater example than our vast expanses of national parks, forests and monuments. In fact, the national park concept began in the United States in the 1870s, when President Ulysses S. Grant signed a bill to establish Yellowstone as the world’s first national park.

Mariposa County, Calif., where I serve as a county supervisor and, before that, as deputy superintendent of Yosemite National Park, is a gateway community to multiple national parks and forests. 

The county has a proud conservation legacy. The awe-inspiring beauty of Yosemite Valley and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias — originally given to the state in 1864 — spurred a national campaign to redraw the boundaries of Yosemite National Park to include them in 1906. Over 4 million visitors came to our county last year to see the Giant Sequoias, Half Dome and other treasured landscapes. Those of us who call Mariposa County home are honored to live in a place where people from around the world come to visit. But with that honor comes great responsibility.

Gateway communities rely on tourism and recreation on public lands as significant economic engines. But county governments must also provide important public services to residents and visitors alike. Last year alone, 235 search-and-rescue operations and 785 medical assists were conducted within Yosemite and adjacent national forests. Mariposa County crews were often the first to respond to these crises and provided services that saved lives. Another contiguous national forest in Mariposa and an adjacent county has one law enforcement officer for 1 million acres of federally managed forestland. Countless incidents require costly county responses that are not reimbursed by the federal government.

Recognizing this strain on county resources, Congress passed the Payments In Lieu of Taxes (PILT) Act in 1976, which compensates primarily county governments for untaxable federal lands within our jurisdiction. Nationwide, 62 percent of counties in 49 states contain tracts of PILT eligible federal lands. In many small, rural communities, PILT can comprise a majority of a county’s operating budget.

Last year, counties took a collective sigh of relief when Congress appropriated the necessary $515 million to fully fund PILT. But we knew that sense of relief might be fleeting because, in previous years, Congress funded PILT at half the necessary level. Until Congress guarantees long-term, mandatory funding for PILT, counties will have great difficulty providing public services such as emergency response, law enforcement, solid waste disposal, health care and road maintenance to residents and federal lands visitors.

Similarly, Congress established a program in 2000 to assist over 700 national forest counties and school districts known as the Secure Rural Schools (SRS) program. SRS compensates these communities for the revenue shortfall from decreased timber harvest receipts due to federal policies that reduce timber production on federal lands. This essential program expired at the end of the 2018 fiscal year, leaving counties wondering if crucial revenue will be available. With the funding formulas tied together, if Congress does not act to reauthorize SRS, PILT payments will be spread thinner across more counties, exacerbating an already precarious financial situation.

President Dwight Eisenhower wrote, “Countries have followed our pioneering example and set aside their most magnificent scenic areas as national treasures for the enjoyment of present and future generations.” All Americans celebrate this rich, bold history of protecting our majestic natural wonders. But we must understand the obligations local governments face when large tracts of federal land are within our boundaries.

We call on Congress to fully and permanently fund PILT and reauthorize SRS before the end of the fiscal year. This will ensure fiscal stability for local governments — and our continued ability to provide critical services on federal lands for the safety and well-being of our communities.

Kevin Cann is a Mariposa County, Calif. supervisor and the president of the National Association of Counties Western Interstate Region.