Zinke heads to Zion to highlight park maintenance backlog

ZION NATIONAL PARK, Utah – Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke is visiting Zion National Park to highlight a backlog of maintenance projects.

Zinke will be joined Monday by Utah Republican Reps. Rob Bishop, Chris Stewart and John Curtis.

The Interior Department has been trying to tackle nearly $12 billion in overdue maintenance projects across the country.

The cost at Utah parks is estimated at more than $266 million. The highest numbers in the state are around $65 million each at Zion and Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, followed by Canyonlands National Park.

A bill in Congress would establish a fund to reduce the backlog using money the government gets from energy development. The bipartisan bill has dozens of co-sponsors.

Bishop tells the Desert News the annual allocation would be capped at $1.3 billion for five years.