National parks will get $750 million in federal economic stimulus money today to chip into a to-do list that includes repairing historic buildings, constructing new trails and increasing renewable energy use at Utah's Zion National Park as well as Independence Hall in Philadelphia and Yosemite in California.
"This is probably the most significant investment made in more than a generation," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in an interview before the Earth Day announcement.
More than 750 projects in 48 states are expected to create 30,000 to 40,000 jobs starting this summer. That includes 15,000 jobs in a 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps.
Though smaller in scale than the 1930s Civilian Conservation Corps, which opened camps for young men who built trails and campgrounds still in use, Salazar says the Depression program is an inspiration to "resurrect the treasures of America."
No projects are in Delaware, which has no national parks, or Rhode Island, which Salazar's press secretary, Kendra Barkoff, says has no "shovel-ready" projects.
A top Utah project that might make the list would be renovating or rebuilding Dinosaur National Monument's visitor center, closed for several years because it's too dangerous for public use.
The stimulus package includes $14 million for solar panels at 26 national parks. Yosemite expects its $5.6 million project to pare electricity costs 10 percent.
Zion National Park in Utah will get 20 percent of its power from solar energy once panels are installed.
Big Bend in Texas, Glacier in Montana, Grand Canyon in Arizona and Rock Creek in Washington, D.C., are among parks slated for trail repair. Yellowstone in Wyoming will get a new wastewater treatment plant. Old mines will be restored at Colorado's Great Sand Dunes and California's Death Valley.
An Interior spokeswoman said details on all the projects would be available to the public this morning on the agency's Web site: www.interior.gov/recovery.
The site also says funding under the Federal Highway Administration will improve park roads for more than 275 million visitors.
Tribune reporter Patty Henetz contributed to this story.
The stimulus funds won't clear the National Park Service's $9 billion maintenance backlog, says spokesman David Barna, but they will pay for long-deferred projects at many iconic sites:
Independence Hall » The birthplace of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution will get nearly $5.5 million to repair its crumbling tower and replace a weathervane, clocks and masonry.
Ellis Island » The New York Harbor site will get $26.1 million to repair a sea wall and stabilize the 1908 baggage and dormitory building.
Shenandoah National Park » The Virginia landmark will get nearly $9.5 million to reconstruct stone walls and wood guardrails at 16 historic overlooks.
