The Trust for Public Land

The Trust for Public Land has partnered with state and local governments across the country to set aside and restore parkland, both in urban and rural areas. From schoolyards in New York City to clean water initiatives in Minnesota and urban trails in Atlanta, they have worked to raise funds from private sources and pass bond referenda to support creation and rehabilitation of open spaces.

At the close of the 20th century our treasured national parks were suffering from years of flat budgets and deferred maintenance. Administrators in Washington, D.C., and other regions could not even estimate accurately the total maintenance backlog, which the Government Accountability Office estimated at $5 billion in 1998, but has been reported as high as $9 billion. In 2001, the National Park Service embarked on developing an asset management program to inventory and assess the conditions of its structures, roads and other facilities, and then establish a program of rehabilitation and maintenance. Since then, significant strides have been made in reducing the maintenance backlog, and the National Park Service has set goals to quantify its success in this area.

Partnerships between state and local government entities that share common recreation goals can help maximize limited funds, especially in concentrated urban environments. For example, Portland’s Parks and Recreation Department shares facilities with school districts, coordinates land and water resource management and use with other regional agencies and raises money for equipment and facilities by partnering with corporations and other nonprofit groups.