Park Service takes up 106 major projects for centennial

The National Park Service has chosen 106 major projects to take on in advance of next year’s celebration of its 100th anniversary.

The repairs, restorations and new features will cost $26 million and range from road improvements to new signage and trails. The projects will be in 31 states and Washington, D.C., at more than 100 parks.

{mosads}Taken together, the initiative is meant to help the Park Service, a unit of the Interior Department, prepare for a rush of visitors it is expecting next year for the centennial of its founding.

“As the National Park Service approaches its centennial in 2016, the National Park Foundation and local park friends groups have pledged to raise private funds to improve the facilities, accessibility, and programs of our national parks, matching the federal appropriation and resulting in a $26 million investment in the parks,” Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis said in a Thursday statement.

The Park Service received $10 million from Congress for the initiative, and the remainder of the cost is coming from private donations.

The centennial celebration was the main reason cited by the Obama administration in asking Congress to give the Park Service $326 million more in fiscal 2016 than it received this year.