The Maintenance Needs of the National Park Service

GAO discussed its examination of the National Park Service's (NPS) maintenance needs. GAO noted that: (1) park unit managers reported a $1.9 billion shortfall in maintenance funding for fiscal year (FY) 1987; (2) this shortfall caused maintenance deferrals and inadequate maintenance staffing, resulting in park asset deterioration, including roads; (3) some of the reported asset deterioration or maintenance referrals were health- and safety-related; (4) continued deterioration of assets could cause their total loss; (5) about half of the NPS roads had a poor rating; (6) about 58 percent of the 267 managers it contacted reported insufficient funding to prevent further road deterioration; and (7) it was too soon after NPS implementation of its Maintenance Management System to gauge its effectiveness in helping parks to identify, assess, and treat park maintenance problems.