Groups labels 10 federal parks the most Endangered

Wednesday, April 5th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The threats facing national parks range from urban sprawl and vandalism to snowmobiles, a private park advocacy group said Wednesday, as it announced the 10 federal parks it considers most endangered.

The National Park and Conservation Association removed five park units from last year's imperiled list and added five new ones, but the group said attacks on the park system have not eased.

"Some of our national parks are becoming a disgrace," complained Tom Kiernan, president of the group, whose primary purpose is as a private watchdog for the federal park system. He said the park system's biggest challenge is to overcome a shortage of money to address a massive backlog of repairs.

Making the list for a second year were some of the most popular and well known national parks: Yellowstone, Great Smokey Mountains, and the Everglades.

The parks that were replaced from last year included Gettysburg National Monument in Pennsylvania where improvements were made in a proposed visitors center; the Grand Canyon because steps are being taken to ease congestion; and Voyageurs National Park in Minnesota because of a moratorium on Jet Skis.

Still, the group said a gamut of threats jeopardize the park system, which includes more than 360 separate units from the widely known parks like Yellowstone to historic battlefields, national monuments, seashores and historic sites.

Yellowstone in northwestern Wyoming was the nation's first federal park, created in 1872, but today "it ranks as one of the most endangered, said the association. Overcrowding with motor vehicles and winter recreation, including about 1,000 snowmobiles, is "pumping tons of pollutants into the air," the group said.

Yellowstone was featured in last year's list when concern was raised about its "crumbling sewage system." Previously a huge proposed gold mine near the park caused concern, but plans for that mine have been abandoned.

The five new park sites on the list were:

--Joshua Tree National Park in the California desert. A land fill is being proposed one and one-half miles from the park with 20,000tons of garbage expected to arrive daily.

--Stones River National Battlefield in Tennessee. A highway is being proposed to bisect the Civil War site which contains graves of 7,000 soldiers.

--Petrified Forest National Park in New Mexico. It's been a target of vandals and thieves. Vistors cart away 12 tons of fossilized wood annually.

--Ozark Scenic Riverways National Park in Missouri. Mining companies are seeking permits to explore the watershed for deposits of lead, raising concern about pollution of the scenic river way.

--National Underground Railraod Network to Freedom. Only recently created by Congress, the association says lawmakers are not providing enough money to restore deteriorating structures.

In addition to Yellowstone, the four other parks on the list for the second year are:

--Denali National Park in Alaska. Concern about noise and pollution from a proposal for snowmobile access. Also, as last year, concern about a proposed road and resort development.

--Great Smokey Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina. Polluted air from coal-burning power plants, some hundreds of miles away, and pollution from a growing number of automobiles.

--Everglades, Biscayne and Big Cypress in Florida. Development of a proposed airport near the Everglades, off-road vehicle use in Big Cypress, and a disruption of natural water flow.

--Haleakala National Park in Hawaii. A proposed airport expansion raises concern about an increase in alien species being brought into the park, posing additional threats to native island plants and other species.

Also taken off the list from last year were the Chaco Culture National Historic Park in New Mexico, after Congress provided more money for preservation, and the Mojave National Preserve, because of the closing of a mine long located there.
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On the Net:
For summary of list
http://www.npca.org

U.S. National Park Service
http://www.nps.gov