Bush should be consistent, open on parks

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'In all our parks, we want visitors to feel welcome and to enjoy the experiences that nature and history have to offer."

President Bush made that statement May 30, 2001, at Sequoia National Park Giant Forest Museum. But maybe he didn't mean all of the parks. Maybe just some of them. And maybe just some of the time.

In that 2001 speech, President Bush was announcing his National Parks Legacy Project. "My administration will make a major investment in our national parks to preserve the legacy of protection for future generations - and make our parks more inviting and acceptable to all citizens," Bush said. "We will offer the young and old alike an opportunity to learn more about the wonders of nature."

Bush was obviously awed by the splendor of Sequoia. He must have felt inspired to emulate one of the greatest environmental presidents, Theodore Roosevelt.

But that was three years ago. As reported Thursday, some national park superintendents are being told to cut services without revealing they are making cuts.

Former employees of the National Park Service, critical of how cuts are being handled under the Bush administration, released an e-mail memo sent last month to park superintendents in the Northeast from the Park Service's Boston office. The memo suggested possibly shuttering visitor centers on federal holidays, closing parks Sundays and Mondays, and eliminating all guided ranger tours and lifeguards at some beaches.

This is obviously not the picture Bush painted back in 2001.

In announcing the 2001 National Parks Legacy Project, he boasted about spending $5 billion over five years to clean up the backlog in maintenance at the parks. He noted that more than 287 million people visit our national parks each year. That's a lot of voters.

"Some fear that places like this are scenes from a passing world; they're not. They will be here as long as we're willing to show careful regard for the environment," Bush said at Sequoia.

But what good are these treasures if a lot of people don't get to visit the results? The president should be consistent in the administration's policy toward the parks, and decisions to cut the parks service should be done openly, not in a sneaky way. Ideally, Bush should slam the door on these surreptitious cost-cutting schemes.

If Bush doesn't, Teddy Roosevelt he ain't.