Native Plant Conservation Campaign News: New book offers comprehensive calculation of the value of National Parks to the people of the U.S.
October 14, 2019
A new book has assessed the total economic contribution of U.S. National Parks (including Monuments, Seashores, Lakeshores, Recreation Areas, 
and Historic sites) to the U.S. The book reports that the Parks contribute more than $100 billion/year to the U.S. economy.
and Historic sites) to the U.S. The book reports that the Parks contribute more than $100 billion/year to the U.S. economy.The analysis has been published in a book titled “Valuing U.S. National Parks and Programs: America’s Best Investment.” In it, researchers used new methodologies to examine the various ways the national parks generate value for — and are valued by — the people of the United States.
This new framework for estimating the value of the Park system, could be used by others to determine the worth of similarly hard-to-value resources. See the book’s Table of Contents, below.
The book comes at a time when the National Park Service faces a large (~ $12 billion) and growing maintenance backlog, while its budget has remained flat for 20 years at less than $3 billion, according to a Harvard Gazette review of the book.
As co-author Linda Bilmes pointed out, the parks “deliver [to the U.S.] at least 30 times the value of what the federal government contributes each year.”
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Table Of Contents
1. Introducing the Multiple Values of National Parks, Programs and Protected Areas
John Loomis and Linda Bilmes
2.Total Economic Valuation of the National Park Service Units and Programs: Results of a Survey of the American Public
Michelle Haefele, John Loomis and Linda Bilmes
3. Estimating Visitor Use and Economic Contributions of National Park Visitor Spending
Lynne Koontz and Catherine Cullinane Thomas
4. Valuing Carbon Sequestration in the U.S. National Parks: Current Conditions and Future Trends
Adam Banasiak, Linda Bilmes and John Loomis
5. Economic Benefits Provided by National Park Service Educational Resources
Tim Marlowe, Linda J. Bilmes and John Loomis
6. Exploring the Contribution of National Parks to the Entertainment Industry’s Intellectual Property
Thomas Liu, John B. Loomis and Linda J. Bilmes
7. Benefits of National Park Service Cooperative Programs
Stephen R. Thompson, Linda J. Bilmes and John B. Loomis
8. Sustainable Funding for the National Park Service
Linda J. Bilmes and Jonathan B. Jarvis
9. Conclusion: Benefits of National Parks Extend Far Beyond Visitation and Tourism
John B. Loomis and Linda J. Bilmes
Photo: Glacier National Park © Michael Weatherford, Arkansas Native Plant Society
