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Today, President Bush diverted attention from his failed Presidency to promote his deceptive National Parks Centennial Initiatve. It is a plan conceived in partnership with and largely for the benefit of, the travel/tourism industry. It is a program intended to yield to the private sector great say in how, and for what purposes, America's National Parks are managed.
Pasted below is the Whitehouse's propaganda backgrounder issued moments ago.
In recent days I've brought together on this website a very different and far more revealing backgrounder. I would pit my backgrounder against the President's, any day of the week.
That said, there is value in the Whitehouse's version, deceptive as it may be. Have a good close look at the names of those of the roundtable with whom the President discussed the fate of America's National Parks System this morning. Cross reference those names on the Wild Wilderness website and the threat posed to our Crown Jewels should become quite obvious.
Scott
Subject: EVENT BACKGROUNDER: THE
PRESIDENT AND MRS. BUSH PARTICIPATE IN A ROUNDTABLE ON THE NATIONAL PARKS
CENTENNIAL INITIATIVE
THE WHITE
HOUSE
Office of the Press
Secretary
(
Luray,
Virginia)
For Immediate
Release February 7, 2007
Event
Backgrounder:
The
President and Mrs. Bush participate in a
Roundtable
on the
National Parks Centennial Initiative
BACKGROUND
The President's 2008 Budget
launches the National Parks Centennial Initiative as part of the largest
National Parks operations budget in history and includes the largest ever
increase for park operations. The Initiative provides for the potential of up
to a $3 billion infusion of new funds over the next ten years on top of
appropriations for normal operations.
In honor of the 90th
anniversary of the Park Service last August, the President issued a memorandum
directing Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne to provide recommendations by May
31, 2007, for preparing the National Parks System for “another century of
conservation.” During the ten-year run-up to the National Parks Centennial, the
Interior Department aims to leverage increased government investment with
private philanthropy to pay for some high-profile, nationally recognized
renewals and expansions that will ensure that the parks achieve new levels of
excellence in the new century.
The record funding increase
for 2008 includes the first $100 million of a ten-year, $1 billion Centennial
Initiative Commitment to improved operations. National parks will use these
funds to hire 3,000 more seasonal rangers, maintain buildings, improve natural
landscapes, encourage volunteers, and enroll more children in the Junior Ranger
program.
The FY08 Budget also
includes a "Centennial Challenge" to individuals, foundations, and the private
sector, to contribute at least $100 million per year – $1 billion over ten
years. The Federal government will match these contributions dollar for dollar
up to $100 million per year in mandatory funds. This match is intended to unite
the public and private sector behind a common vision of leveraging philanthropic
investment for the benefit of our national parks and their visitors for future
generations. The Centennial Challenge alone could result in up to $2 billion in
funding for our national parks over the next ten years to fund the signature
projects and goals set forth by Secretary Kempthorne in the May
report.
BIOGRAPHIES OF
PARTICIPANTS
Secretary Dirk Kempthorne,
Department of Interior
Mary Bomar, Director,
National Park Service
Mary Bomar became the 17th
Director of the National Park Service on October 17, 2006. She is responsible
for 390 sites and leads a team of 20,000 employees and 140,000 volunteers in
preserving
America’s special places for
enjoyment of current and future visitors. Bomar has held varied leadership
positions and joined the National Park Service (NPS) in 1990 after spending over
12 years with the United States Air Force.
Vin Cipolla, President and
Chief Executive Officer, National Park Foundation
Vin Cipolla is the President
and CEO of the National Park Foundation, the Congressionally chartered
philanthropic partner of
America’s National Parks. Mr.
Cipolla served as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the
Institute of
Contemporary Art, Boston (ICA), for nine
years, where he spearheaded the development of the museum’s new $51 million
facility. Before his appointment to the National Park Foundation, Mr. Cipolla
was President and CEO of Veritude, the employer services and workforce
management company of Fidelity Investments.
Chas Cartwright,
Superintendent,
Shenandoah
National
Park
Chas Cartwright
has served as the Superintendent of the
Shenandoah
National
Park in
Luray,
Virginia, since 2005. Prior to this posting,
he served as the Superintendent of the
Dinosaur
National
Monument in Dinosaur,
Colorado, from 2001 to 2005. During the
1990’s, Cartwright served as the Superintendent of five national parks. Prior
to his career in the National Park Service, Cartwright was an
archaeologist.
Fred Andreae, Trustee,
Shenandoah
National Park Trust and
President, Scenic 340 Projects
Fred Andreae
has been a Trustee on the National Park Trust since 2004, and is the President
of Frederick Andreae Architects in Front Royal
Virginia. Andreae also serves as a National
Trust for Historic Preservation representative on the Federal Advisory
Commission for the Cedar Creek and
Belle
Grove
National
Historical
Park in
Middletown,
Virginia.
Derrick Crandall, President
and Chief Executive Officer, American Recreation
Coalition
Derrick Crandall is the
President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Recreation Coalition, a
position he has held since 1981. He is the Executive Vice President of The
Recreation Roundtable and serves as Co-Chair of the National Recreation Lakes
Coalition, the Scenic Byways Coalition and the Coalition for Recreational Trails
as well as Treasurer of the American League of Anglers and Boaters. He has
served in leadership roles on numerous community and philanthropic organizations
and presently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Earth
Conservation Corps and the executive committee of WOW-Wonderful Outdoor World.
Gene Sykes, Chairman, Board
of Trustees, National Parks Conservation Association
Gene Sykes is the Chairman
of the Board of Trustees of the National Parks Conservation Association and a
member of the Board of Trustees of The Nature Conservancy of California. He is
a member of the Board of the California Governor's Council on Physical Fitness
and Sports and sits on the Advisory Council of the Stanford University Graduate
School of Business. Gene is also a Managing Director at Goldman, Sachs &
Company. He is Co-Chair of the firm's Global Mergers and Acquisitions business
and chairman of Global Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Investment
Banking.
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