The Interior Department said in a report Friday, hours before the president, his wife, Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha, boarded Air Force One for the cross-country flight, that national parks, wildlife refuges, national monuments and other public lands it manages saw an estimated 443 million recreational visits previous year, up from 423 million in 2014.
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The administration makes an economic argument for supporting the park system: It sustains hundreds of thousands of jobs while visitors pump billions of dollars into surrounding economies.
As he takes his family on a Father’s Day weekend of hiking and sightseeing, President Obama is demonstrating that his most important legacy on national parks may be less about his policies and budget proposals and more about something about Obama personally. They spent $16.9 billion in nearby communities.
The president’s visit will also include some short-term area closures and visitors are urged to enter the park before 8 a.m. or after 6 p.m.to avoid the traffic.
The trip will give Obama the opportunity to recap his record on preserving open spaces and promote administration initiatives aimed at boosting tourism at the national parks.
Inside the New Mexico cavern, where three of the 119 caves are open to the public, Obama gazed at the stalactites, stalagmites and various other formations dotting the Big Room and said it was “spectacular”.
Some members of Congress accuse Obama of overreach every time he uses that authority to create a national monument without their input.
The president will help celebrate the centennial of the National Park Service, and he is also expected to talk about his plan to reduce climate-changing carbon emissions.
Also hampering the park system is an estimated $12 billion in deferred maintenance.
Obama will use the postcard-perfect scenery at both of the parks he’s visiting with his family to highlight the natural beauty that officials assert could be lost or forever damaged by climate change.
Federal officials said 305 million people visited national parks across the country past year, an all-time high.
With his frequent visits and enthusiastic reviews, Obama is perhaps the best celebrity pitchman the national parks have had since his predecessor, President Teddy Roosevelt, set aside land for national parks before the National Park Service even existed. Here are some of the highlights for visitors to Yosemite, starting with Tunnel View, one of the most popular lookouts in the park.
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The president will be joined by first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters, Malia and Sasha, on the trip, which was scheduled before the attack that killed 49 people at a nightclub in Orlando last week.
