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he nation's protection, and treatment backlog Funding for NPS has not kept F !r cultural heritage of$190 million. At the current pace with the rising number of 2n , rate of expenditure, it is estimat- resources is at risk. deteriorated cultural resoui h;4. ;,:.• F:' a O�, ed that hundreds of park struc- both within and outside the The following tures and landscapes will disap- National Park System. The main- U, realities urgently pear altogether, lost forever to tenance and inventory backlogs " -uc- require increased investment: future generations. In our com- are daunting for historic sti on, archeo- munities, historic properties are tures cultural landscapes, Decision-making is based on lost on a daily basis because of logical sites, museum collections, incomplete and inaccurate inadequate information and insuf- and places traditionally associated information because only a ficient protection and incentives with local groups. The public's fraction of the nation's cultural for preservation. interest in protecting historic resources has been identified properties in communities also is and inventoried. Widespread ignorance about increasing, while* the support for our cultural heritage leads to the organizational itift-astructure Only a small portion of the cultur- an intellectually impoverished both within and outside NPS— al resources in the National Park nation. federal agencies; governments at • System—including cultural land- the state, tribal, and local levels; scapes, buildings, archeological Knowledge of American history and the private sector—that sus- ITT" sites, museum collections, and and culturally diverse communi- tains these properties is decreas- places of ethnographic importance ties among all age groups in the ing. NPS must expand its part- with traditional associations with United States is woefully inade- nerships and rely to a greater groups — have been identified quate. While much of the instruc- extent on outside sources of sup- and inventoried. This situation is tion in American history takes port in order to meet the needs mirrored in the nation's communi- place in formal classrooms, histor- both in the parks and in the ties, where only partial surveys ical agencies and organizations nation's communities. and inventories have been com- increasingly are cooperating with pleted, leaving decisions to be schools, youth groups, and adult based on incomplete information. education programs to stimulate interest in the history of the Continuing deterioration of nation and its communities. resources both in parks and Because of its broad mission in the nation's communities the area of cultural resource pro- causes irretrievable losses. tection, NPS can play an enor- mous role in educating the public The National Park System stag- about our shared heritage. gers under the weight of nearly $1 billion of deferred maintenance Major changes in funding, and treatment backlog for historic staffing, and relationships structures. There also is a ti among preservation partners, cultural landscape maintenance result in many fewer financial backlog of$500 million and a and staffing resources to museum collections preservation, address growing needs. 7 a