So, Chiricahua National Monument, which gets only 60,000 visitors a year, is going to be upgraded to a national park?
WHY?
First, contra the tourism pushers (Grand Junction, Colorado area with Colorado National Monument comes immediately to mind), yes, an upgrade does cost money, and not just changing the signs.
You want this because you think an upgrade to national park status will bring more tourists.
And, assuming it does? That means the upgraded national park has to hire more rangers, both for general assistance, and for things that national parks visitors expect, like interpretive programs, evening ranger presentations and such. It has to hire more roads and facilities maintenance staff for the increased wear and tear. It has to hire more law enforcement rangers for increased problems.
And?
That all costs money.
Stop lying.
Second, doing this while still refusing to address a massive maintenance backlog, an issue on which Democraps are 75 percent as bad as Rethuglicans, is a mix of hypocrisy and abuse of the National Park Service.
And, it's more proof that the left hand of the duopoly doesn't really care about real environmental, ecological and land management issues.
