Op-Ed: To protect Alcatraz and the national parks, we must invest in their future
NBC Bay Area for the Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy
This National Park Week, visitors flocked to Bay Area national park sites, watching the fog roll over the Marin Headlands, walking beneath the redwoods of Muir Woods and boarding ferries for Alcatraz Island.
Few national park sites capture the public imagination like Alcatraz, which continues to draw millions of visitors annually and remains as relevant today as the history it preserves. From the incarceration stories that made the island famous to the Indians of All Tribes' 1969 Occupation that helped galvanize a movement for Native American rights, Alcatraz gives each generation a place to encounter our history and consider what it means today. This year, it also hosted its first-ever live national broadcast during the Super Bowl, introducing the island to audiences in an entirely new way.
As we celebrate national parks, we also face the reality of aging infrastructure, staffing shortages and budget cuts with this urgent question: Will Congress continue to provide the resources needed to care for America's most beloved places?
For those of us in the Bay Area, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA) is woven into daily life. More than 16 million visits each year show how deeply people value these places for recreation, reflection and connection. These aren't simply destinations. They are both national treasures and our day-to-day spaces where people come together, connect with nature and history, and find a sense of belonging.
Such popularity comes at a moment when national parks face mounting challenges. Roads, water systems, visitor facilities and historic structures still require significant investment, including right here in the Bay Area.
Last year, I wrote that national parks needed lasting investment. A year later, the need is even clearer, and Congress hasn't yet completed the work of renewing one of the most successful conservation investments in recent history.
The bipartisan America the Beautiful Act is a ready-made solution. It would renew the National Parks and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund (LRF) and allow critical infrastructure investments to continue before projects stall and costs increase. Over its first five years, this highly successful program financed nearly 400 priority projects nationwide, revitalizing deteriorating roads and trails, replacing outdated water lines and restoring historic structures.
We're encouraged by leaders from both parties supporting this effort. Here in the Bay Area, Rep. Jared Huffman has been a consistent leader and champion for public lands and now has an opportunity to help build additional momentum for reauthorization in the House. But this can't rest on the shoulders of a few lawmakers.
National parks enjoy broad public support and provide economic vitality for their regions—the GGNRA is responsible for more than $2 billion in annual impact here in the Bay Area. Congress must treat their long-term care as a national priority.
The longer lawmakers wait, the more expensive the repairs and the harder it becomes for the National Park Service to provide inviting, welcoming and accessible experiences for the public. Infrastructure isn't just about roads, buildings and water systems. It's ultimately about whether people can safely reach these places, experience them, and see themselves reflected in the stories they tell.
On Alcatraz, dollars from the first round of the Legacy Restoration Fund are helping increase access to our nation's history. The island’s concrete wharf and historic buildings have been battered by the elements for decades. Without intervention, deteriorating infrastructure threatened to restrict public access to this iconic site. Thanks to the LRF, the National Park Service is executing vital seismic upgrades, stabilizing the wharf and repairing historic structures. Preserving Alcatraz isn't about freezing the island in time. It's about ensuring that new generations can continue to experience its complicated history, ask questions of it, and carry those stories forward.
National Park Week is a celebration of the places that bring people together, connect us to history and offer room to reflect on our shared future. It's also a reminder that these places require ongoing care.
Investments through the Legacy Restoration Fund are helping preserve access to places like Alcatraz, protect historic sites, improve visitor experiences and strengthen local economies. They represent the kind of practical, bipartisan stewardship that Americans expect for their public lands.
Congress should not allow that progress to slip away.
The future of Alcatraz, the GGNRA, and national parks across the country depends on decisions being made today. We urge Congress to move quickly and pass the America the Beautiful Act so these public places remain welcoming, accessible and inspiring for generations to come. When we care for the parks that care for us, we protect the opportunity for people to experience nature, understand our shared history, and feel that these public lands belong to them, too.
