The National Park Service (NPS) receives appropriations in annual Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies appropriations acts. Over the past decade (FY2017-FY2026), NPS received both regular (annual) appropriations and, in some years, supplemental appropriations to address damage from hurricanes and other natural disasters. NPS’s FY2026 regular appropriation of $3.267 billion was 11% higher than FY2017 in nominal dollars but 16% lower in inflation-adjusted dollars. NPS received disaster-related supplemental appropriations in FY2018, FY2019, FY2022, FY2023, and FY2025, which were provided outside of regular appropriations laws and were not subject to discretionary spending caps. The largest supplemental was $2.313 billion in FY2025 (P.L. 118-158) to address damage from natural disasters. In addition to regular and supplemental discretionary appropriations, the agency also has mandatory sources of funding, including both NPS-specific funding and allocations from Department of the Interior (DOI)-wide accounts. NPS’s discretionary appropriations were organized in six accounts from FY2017 through FY2020, and in five accounts thereafter. (One account, with funding for federal land acquisition and outdoor recreation assistance to states, was shifted after FY2020 from discretionary to mandatory spending.) Among the five current accounts, funding for three accounts decreased over the past decade in inflation-adjusted dollars. These included NPS’s largest account, which supports basic park operations, as well as an account that funds construction and major repairs and an account for “Centennial Challenge” grants to spur partner donations for park improvements. Two accounts, which both provide for NPS assistance to nonfederal entities, grew in inflation-adjusted dollars over the decade. The funding changes took place in the context of a 2% decrease in park visitation over the decade. The size of the National Park System remained roughly stable in terms of acreage, but 19 new units (many of relatively small size) were added to the system. The agency’s full-time equivalent (FTE) staffing levels declined by an estimated 18% over the decade, owing especially to an estimated staffing decline for FY2026. A significant issue for NPS throughout the decade was the agency’s multibillion-dollar backlog of deferred maintenance—infrastructure maintenance and repairs that were not performed as scheduled or as needed. For two discretionary budget activities (within larger budget accounts) that address both regular and deferred maintenance, the combined funding decreased over the decade by an estimated 21% in inflation-adjusted terms. In the latter part of the decade (FY2021-FY2025), the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF), established by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA; P.L. 116-152), provided mandatory spending to address NPS deferred maintenance. The LRF provided $1.330 billion annually to NPS for each of FY2021-FY2025; the funding authorization expired in FY2025. NPS’s infrastructure needs may continue to receive attention in the 119th Congress, both within and outside the annual appropriations process.
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