What do National Parks mean to Massachusetts?

How much are our National Parks worth? At the centennial anniversary of the National Park Service, a new study seeks to determine how much our parks are worth and what they mean to our country as a whole. They attract millions of visitors each year, but their budgets are shrinking and their infrastructure needs tremendous work. In Massachusetts alone, deferred maintenance and repairs totaled more than $228 million, and nationwide the sum is almost $12 billion. Yet they attract $488.5 million in tourism dollars per year.

Preservation Massachusetts has signed onto a letter urging Congress to work with the National Parks Conservation Association and others to work in collaboration toward preserving America's parks well into the future. The National Parks Association and the Pew Charitable Trusts are partnering with the National Trust for Historic Preservation on this effort to demonstrate just how valuable our National Parks are and what we can to do help in this important anniversary year, with case studies and an awareness campaign. We are excited to work with these great organizations and assist in any way we can.

The Boston Globe ran a great piece entitled "Invest in America's Parks" that explains the goals of the study and how much our parks mean to Massachusetts. For the full article, click here.