. he started educating me in all these different devices that are very important to the success of the show. >> sunday night at 8:00 eastern and pacific on q&a. servicetional park director jonathan jarvis talks about the upcoming 100 anniversary of the agency. from washington journal, this is 35 minutes. >> its national park week and we have to does the director of the national park service, jonathan jarvis is the service marks its 100 earth day this year. what is the state of national parks? good.nk it is pretty record visitation 307 , million visitors across all 400 plus national parks.

we have a few challenges, but it is a great year to celebrate our 100th anniversary. host: the secretary of interior yesterday gave a speech, and she called for a correction in our conservation efforts in the next 100 years. what did she mean by that? guest: we have to address a number of challenges related to conservation. one is that the american public in terms of diversity, ethnicity, is not participating in conservation, in outdoor recreation in any sort of equitable way. so reaching out and inspiring the next generation to take on population issues and take on the experience of parks and public lands is one of those challenges. certainly, climate change and its impact on our parks and

public lands, recognizing that we need to be thinking, acting, managing sort of at the landscape scale. that was another big part of her speech. host: how do you tackle diversity at the parks? secretary jewell saying the people that visit look like her, older and whiter. guest: historically -- as she said in her speech, in the 1950's and the 1960's, the park service ran a public campaign inviting all americans to see the usa in their chevrolet, and they came in droves. it was basically the return of world war ii veterans and their kids. those kids are today boomers, the constituency of all parks and public lands. in order to change the paradigm, we needed a similar campaign now, as part of a centennial, and it is an invitation for all citizens to find their special place that is meaningful to them. that is not enough. there are other aspects we're

doing to sort of diversified our base. one is youth programs. we're working with youth-serving organization, particularly those that work with youth of color. their great traditional organizations that serve young people and get them into the outdoors. the second piece of this is making sure the park service tells the story of america, so as we celebrated or commemorated the civil war, we shifted to civil rights, emphasizing the civil rights fight across the nation. selma, montgomery, tuskegee airmen, and we added new parks are just last week. we added the belmont hall equality national monument and the national women's park. host: director jarvis is here to take questions and comments. millions of you have visited national parks since the 1920's.

in 2015, 307 million of you visited the national parks. tell us about that. eastern part of the country, mountain pacific -- here are the numbers. [video clip] >> i am thrilled to join you all in celebrating the 100th anniversary of the national parks service. part of this celebration, mrs. laura bush and i are challenging every american to get out and find your park. you can experience natural wonders like yosemite and the grand canyon. it you can learn about our history at the statue of liberty and gettysburg. you can take a moment to pause and reflect at a national memorial or monument. i do this every single day,

because to find my park, all i have to do is get out of bed. that is right, the white house is actually a national park. i can also find my park and a little bit of my family's history at one ever -- one of our newest national parks in my hometown of chicago. this national monument showcases the incredible stories that unfolded, stories of the industrial revolution and the labor movement and the fight for civil rights, stories that are a vital part of our national heritage. so i want to challenge you all to show me how you find your park. share your experiences online with hashtag #findyourpark and visit the website to find more. my husband launched the every kid in a park initiative so that every fourth-grader in this country and their families can visit our national parks for

free. so get out there and have some fun and experience all the beauty and history our great country has to offer. thank you, and god bless. host: director, how is the initiative going? guest: it has been great. the campaign launched about a year ago. we now know we have had 6 billion pr impressions. the target market is the mill alleles -- the millennials, 18 to 35. we know we have reached about one in four millennials, and we are seeing the kind of support that we think we need. host: let's get to calls. wayne is first in nebraska. good morning. caller: hi there. i am a retired fireman. [indiscernible] host: control what? guest: noxious weeds is what he

said. we do have exotic plants, not just weeds. we actually do quite a bit of control in the national parks the cosby do not want them spreading -- because we do not want them spreading. host: is the national parks service responsible for fighting fires if one starts in the park? guest: absolutely it we work on an interagency basis with firefighting. we join forces to take on all wildfires. host: is it a challenge for the parks? guest: it is a challenge to climate change is affecting the way fires burn. they burn hotter and longer. they can be replacing the current native vegetation.

it does not come back the same. they are more expensive because more people are living in the interface between the lands and developed areas. and we're asking congress to fund catastrophic wildfires as they would major disasters, like floods and hurricanes. host: how much of your budget goes to things like that? guest: our overall budget, fiscal 2016 budget was just shy of $3 billion. fiscal 2017 budget has a request of just a little over $3 billion. most of our budget is operating funds and we operate parks. it is not much of a grant-making kind of organization. fire is not directly funded. it just comes up of our budget. and we have to pay for it when fires occur. host: we're taking your questions and comments about the national park service. it turns 100 this year we want to know what it has been like for you to visit the parks over the years.

you can tweet a picture using @cspanwj. let's go to phyllis. caller: yes, hi. why don't you have more electric car charges at all of the national parks and national monuments? guest: ok, great question. it is actually an area we are expanding. we are working with, particularly in california right now, to put in a series of electric card charges across the national park system. we really need to have a series of them so that an individual that has an electric car can recharge within the range of that vehicle, so we're working with the national park foundation to help us and stole a number of these. that i absolutely think this is something we're going to pursue

in the future. host: secretary jewell yesterday said you have a backlog, a maintenance backlog. what is going on here? guest: for the last decade or several decades, we have been inadequately funded, basically flat funded, by the u.s. congress. as a consequence, our infrastructure -- the park service has an infrastructure of roads, bridges, tunnels, and then we have buildings, many of them historic, and we have water systems, wastewater plants, visitor centers, historic homes. when you look at all of that together, about half of our backlog is roads and bridges. we have the arlington memorial bridge here in washington, which is a $250 million project. over time, those assets and gone into decline. you can see it in the field right now. so we are asking congress to appropriate adequate funding to address this over a series of

years to really bring all of these assets back up. host: what is the most threatened? guest: one example, one of the complicated issues is the grand canyon. the water for all of the south part of the grand canyon, which the vast majority of visitors come to, comes from the north rim of the grand canyon. it is a water line that goes all the way down the canyon and back up to the other side. that is about 60 years old and breaks constantly. it is going to cost us probably $150 million to replace. that is a perfect example of old infrastructure supporting the hundreds of millions of visitors. host: virginia, judy, good morning. caller: i would like to thank mr. jarvis for his service in the park service. i think the park service is just

a wonderful treasure to this country. my more direct question is, as i am enjoying walking around fletcher's cove in d.c., i am astounded that there have been logs smoldering by the river for over a week. host: say it again? caller: blogs have been -- logs have been smoldering at people build fires. they go fishing there and set up camps. there are authorized areas of fires, and they're using unauthorized areas to cook their fish. guest: well, i have not been down to fletcher's in a while. of course, this time of year, there is a big run on the river and a lot of fishermen in that area on the potomac.

some are doing illegal fires. that is something we are concerned about. we had a big fire burning in shenandoah national park right now. there is a high vulnerability this time of year of wildfires. i think it is indicative of the decline in our operating budget, and we do not have enough staff to get out. we rely heavily on volunteers with our organization. we have 440,000 volunteers. but i will send our ranger out there to check it out. host: what happens if the ranger catches somebody? guest: they will get a ticket. host: how much? guest: i have no idea. host: a call from colorado. caller: thank you for taking my call. my question was about xanterra and a lot of the, historically, kind of that contracts and deals that the national park is made with xanterra. my understanding is that the national parks had to cut their own funds, millions upon

millions of dollars, and even for many of its employees. i would love to hear and update on the latest with the contracts with xanterra and going forward with solutions, the national parks do not run a lot of these concessionaire stands that we all use. guest: that is a great question. i could spend the rest of the day talking about the complications of our social services. the park services private sector side of the organization, lodging, food service, they're run by private concessionaires. xanterra is one of them. there are a few others. it is a unique law congress

passed back in the 1990's that requires as to put this opportunity for business out for bid. they bid on it and pay as a franchise fee. we do get some revenue return from that, about $80 million a year after a $1 billion industry. we are asking congress for some reform and those laws so that the park service, the federal government, the american taxpayer gets a better return on this man services overall can be improved for the public, as well. it is a complicated question, and we are working with xanterra and the other concessionaires to improve overall services. host: ohio, good morning. caller: my comment is that i think the national park service

is probably one of the best things. it promotes -- it makes the country's commonality, as far as it does not matter who your party affiliation is. it just brings america together. host: do you agree? guest: i agree wholeheartedly. the national parks or something this nation should be very proud of. they represent the best of the country and america's best idea. it crosses all lines, ethnicity, politics, age, and it is a place you can sort of go and experience your country and feel a sense of patriotism. so thank you. host: on twitter -- i have not been to a national park since

they started charging an entrance fee. when i was young, we could just walk in. guest: of the 411 national parks, only about 125 charge fees. the rest of free all the time. you can also purchase a pass for $80, and you are in for free for life. and if you are 62, you can get a golden age passed for $10 and you are in for life for free. it is a pretty good deal. host: and this week, all the parts are free. national park week, all parts are free through sunday. mary in california. caller: yes, i lived in the national park service, national seashore, for over 30 years. i know it like the back of my hand. i am horribly concerned with the removal of the grazers. the grasslands are gone. there are no wildfires out there. it is all brush.

there is going to be huge fire out there again. i would really recommend less political science and some real science, keeping the brush from overtaking most all of the trails. it is really not a wilderness. it abuts a local community. it is more of an urban park in a way. but you do not have grasslands. the grasslands are gone. the fuel load is enormous. i wish we could have more public/private arrangements to keep some of that country open. host: director jarvis? guest: it is an extraordinary park. i agree, it is a wonderful

place. the staff on the ground have been working very hard for the ongoing dairy operations, the dairy cattle, and finding a balance with the elk, and those are grazers in the area. meaning -- maintaining that landscape is a high priority for us. caller: thank you for the work you do. i love the national parks. i understand the challenges, but i am concerned about the disrepair on the monument at theodore island. guest: we are addressing that. we had a meeting the last couple weeks with a member of the roosevelt family, great-great-grandson, and the national park foundation. we have a philanthropic effort

to restore the teddy roosevelt memorial itself, the plaza area, and actually enhance the history of teddy around the trail system with a series of stories. you will see a significant improvement in the investment on that memorial and the island over the next year. host: mike from north carolina, welcome to the conversation. caller: thank you very much, and good morning. i first want to say thank you for the invaluable service the national park service provides our nation. i have witnessed firsthand, an officer saved someone's life on the national seashore. they responded even before the coast guard or lifeguards at the

beach could respond. their knowledge of local ecology and history in any location is unmatched. what role does the national park service play and conservation beyond simple law enforcement activities? how can we get congress to offer better funding and educate the public about why we need to support the national park services. guest: the national park service, the way i view our role in conservation, it is sort of a can -- akin to the anchor store in a larger systems are you have yellowstone, yosemite, the grand canyon. we try to manage these places to a very high standard of an impairment -- unimpairment. we allow fires to do their thing. wolves back into yellowstone. we manage that as close to nature and natural as possible within the larger context, as well.

we have been asking congress to increase our budget, and they were very generous in 2016. i have to say, the largest budget in our history, but it is not enough. i think part of the centennial campaign has been all about reconnecting with the american people. we are at the will of the people, and the people need to speak, to say that this is an investment that they think congress should make. host: as the american people become more diverse, you would like to see more diversity at the parks. how are you going to achieve that? what can you do to make sure that the rings within national parks are diverse, as well? -- that the ranks within the national parks, as well? about 80% are white. guest: absolutely. it is a major concern to the good news is we will probably see one of the largest retirements in our history.

a lot of folks in our agency have been hanging on until the centennial, and many are past retirement eligibility. we have been building our farm team, and we have the youth programs, and urban initiative. we have encouraged organizations to work to diversify their workforce. these can feed right into the national park service. we have new hiring authorities at opm. if you work for us two years as a seasonable, you can be permanently hired to we're very interested in hiring veterans. veterans are a great source of skills and capacity for the park service with all they have learned.

obviously, we have a very diverse military workforce, as well. all of the components we're working on at the same time, i think, will change the overall workforce at the park service. host: we have 15 minutes left with director jarvis to take your comments and questions about the national parks as they mark their 100th year. remember, you can send your pictures of your favorite park if you tweet @cspanwj. there is one on your screen right now. caller: good morning. i want to mention a couple of the national parks i have been to that i really enjoy, and i have been to a lot. i want to mention voyager national park, which is on the minnesota-canadian border. we took our canoe and went up there, and they provided a larger canoe. then another boat trip takes you over and tells you about the fur traders years ago.

it is a beautiful country. i think a place where you store your things is up in the trees because of the bears. another national park we went to was big bend. that is on the texas-mexican border, and that is really interesting and different. of course, we have been to the teddy roosevelt, and i like learning all the history while there, in addition to the beautiful scenery. host: that was jackie. william is next, lafayette, louisiana. caller: good morning. thank you, director, thank you. hello? host: we're listening to you.

caller: i want to say, first, that i am a great supporter of the national park system. i have been going to the national parks more than half of the century of the history of it. i started going in the 1950's. i have been to 42 of the regular national parks. have been to probably 100 of your other parks in the park system. guest: thank you, william. great job to just keep coming. there is more to see. host: top national park by visitor spending, 2014 numbers. blue ridge, great smoky mountains. why is that? guest: a lot of things to proximity to large public populations, public knowledge, gasoline price, and i think our

promotional campaigns, as well. some parks, it is a family thing. multi-generations, people go every year, and they bring their kids and grandkids. it is just part of their lives. host: yellowstone was on that list are that was established by congress is the nation and the world as it first national park on march 1, 1872. california, lori, good morning. caller: good morning. i heard him say that if you are 62 or older, $10 would get you a golden pass for life. if you are disabled, is that the same? can you do that, too? guest: absolutely, we have an

access pass for those that are disabled. either way, if you are 62, whether you have a disability or not, for $10, you can get a pass and that is good for you -- not only you, but those in the car with you, for life. host: we will go to sarah, and we will show you a little video here of the national parks. is from the national park service -- it is from the national park service. sarah in new hampshire, good morning. caller: thank you, and happy birthday to the national park system. guest: thank you. caller: i am concerned about indigenous animals being pushed out by nonindigenous species and the plight of rivers, the colorado being what we would call a trickle brook by the time it ends up coming to its ocean exit. but my main thing today is to ask you about the tonto national

forest, which was apache land and was supposed to be protected and is now being sold to an australian mining company, which is going to make an open pit copper mine. i do not understand the process here. i thought this land is our land, and how could this ever happen? and could this happen in our other protected lands? guest: i am not familiar with that particular issue on the tonto national park. the national forest system is under a different department than me, the department of agriculture, not the department of interior. they are multiple use lands. they are available for mining and gravel extractions, cattle

grazing, and the like. the national parks under the department of interior are not open for these kinds of activities. a law by congress was passed that prohibited mining in the national parks. this is something you do not have to worry about. on the forest service lands out there, there are proposals for mining and other types of resource extraction that can have a direct impact. host: a call from massachusetts. caller: director jarvis, congratulations on the centennial of the national parks. i am calling from massachusetts, the home of john adams. the national park service across the country, after the release of the hbo series on john adams, we saw a tremendous significant jump of visitors around the

country to the adams mansion here. what about people coming from other countries? guest: the national park service posts about 60 million international visitors from all over the world. we are currently in a campaign to promote the national parks internationally. brand usa. the imax film just produced is designed to be shown around the world, inviting international visitors. that is great for the american economy, new dollars coming to the united states. they love to come to the national parks and learn a little bit about this nation. there is a focus in the pacific rim, around china and asia, to invite that community. the united states is the number two destination in the world for international travel, just a little bit behind france. france is a little easier to get to. but we want to be number one.

we really do want to draw international visitors to come see our national parks. host: our next call is from michigan. caller: hello. i love c-span. my question here is -- i have visited yellowstone, and what i have noticed is a lot of foreign workers from many different countries working at the parks in these, i guess, private concessionaires. that disturbed me a little bit. i wonder if you would comment to that? guest: thank you. it is common for our private concessionaires to hire workers that work in hotels and restaurants from other countries, and come here on work visas. and we have been encouraging

them through the new contracts to hire more americans to work in these national parks. i know, in talking to folks from my generation, they remember in many cases working in their summers out of college in national parks, working at a restaurant or working as a guide or in a hotel. so i think there is a real opportunity for employment for american students to work in these places, and we have been encouraging our concessionaires to do that. host: director jarvis, you mentioned climate change at the top of your remark. what can the national park service do to combat this issue, and how is it impacting the parks? guest: we are seeing the effects of climate change in our national parks right now. the poster child of climate change is really glacier national park based on our

modeling, we think there will be no glaciers and punk glacier national park within 20, 25 years. they are disappearing. and they are the refrigerators and water storage and tenders of our parks. we lose that, and the streams will change downstream. different species and different vegetation types, as well. fires are burning longer and hotter, more destructive. sea level, storm surge, like hurricane sandy that came across the new england part of the country, all had in tax to places we had not seen before.

the park service has a unique role to one is science and monitoring the impact of climate change in terms of the coal mine metaphor -- canary in the coal mine metaphor. we have a role in education, helping to understand impacts of climate change. we have a role in mitigation, using the most sustainable methods to construction operation, biofuels, solar, all of that. last but not least is adaptation, really adapting, thinking about our parks 25, 50, 100 years from now. host: richard is in missouri. go ahead. caller: i have a comment. we have this wilson creek national battlefield in springfield. i want to commend the rangers there at the park. they helped me find my great-grandfather's war records. it is a beautiful place to come see. host: thank you. guest: thank you, richard. that is something that our employees, our rangers, really have a passion to find that connection. i was just in kennesaw battlefield in georgia on saturday and talking to a young

man who went through that same process of records and found out that his, one of his ancestors actually was at one of the cannon batteries there during the kennesaw battle. so there are these deep familial connections that we can help. host: we have just a couple minutes left. paul is in cambridge, massachusetts. make it quick. caller: director jarvis, thank you for what you do good good morning. appreciate your comments with respect to hartford, connecticut, site recently decimated -- recently called a national park location. funding, with respect like that, if you could comment on plans, time frames, and funding required. guest: congress authorized coatesville as a new unit of the national park system. we're working through a transfer for part of the property to the

national park service. we had to do a little bit of a fix in the legislation. this cycle of the fiscal 2017 budget has an operating budget for coatesville, so we can get rangers on the ground. host: carol in connecticut. caller: hello, mr. jarvis. i love watching the channel. i live in connecticut. i am not aware of where the national parks are in connecticut. host: ok, i am jumping and it i hate to be rude, but the house has to gavel in. guest: the best thing is to go to nps.gov and type in connecticut. you will pull of our state page. it will list all of the parks and whether or not there is even a map. you can find which ones are really close to you. [captions copyright national

cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] grexit is an invitation to go out there and find your park, find that place that is really special to you and share it with your friends and family. host: thank you for being here this morning. appreciate it. a coming up thursday morning, reporter for politico will join us by phone to discuss this week's spring meeting in hollywood, florida area they the address the rules for rnc committee taking place in july. plus he cochair of the 20th century skill set will -- skills

pocket. the goal is to identify the best methods to promote 21st century's in the nation's schools. he will preview the pennsylvania primary. cardin is aator ben ranking member the senate foreign relations committee. he will discuss president obama's trip to saudi arabia and shared his views on a bill that would allow the saudi government to responsible for any role it played in the september 11, 2011 attacks. be sure to watch beginning i've at 7:00 a.m. eastern thursday morning. join the discussion. up, the house energy and commerce committee task force examines the bioethics of fetal tissue research. then the supreme court's oral argument on the independent redistricting commission.

later a discussion on millennials and public policy. >> thursday at confirmation hearing for nominees to head the u.s.-european command, u.s. northern command norad. that is live at 9:30 am eastern on c-span three. tv, thisan history weekend. saturday evening at 6:00 eastern on the civil war. a historian discusses his book on why the south lost the civil war and why the north one. midst of the civil war including the reason it started, and how it ended. >> some felt compelled to explain why wasn't this ever and 25% of occurred

southern white men between the ages of 20-45 were dead. no just casualties, they were dead as a result of the civil war. morning,g -- sunday the rewind campaign of gary hart. we begin with him announcing his candidacy in denver and then added news conference where he faced a alleged extramarital affair with donna rice. the smithsonian gallery curator at and her involvement in the farm workers movement. anyone,begging to sin -- to send anyone but she was at the forefront of that effort for a reason.

>> at 8:00,-- tensed up and said those partners of mine, did any of them ever invite me to play golf at their fancy country club? he just goes on and on. lip was quivering. >> that's one of the few times in those years that i was so close to him. it was a very well contained, very disciplined man. he hated them for it. butterfield,

reflecting the president's personality and policies from watergate to vietnam. for the lead schedule, go to www.c-span.org. >> next, hearing examines whether abortion clinics are profiting from fetal tissue. members heard from a panel of lawyers on the issue. this is two hours and 50 minutes. mrs. blackburn: the select investigative panel will come to order. and before we begin, i would like to take a moment to address the guests, who are in our audience today. first of all, we thank each of you for taking the time to come. we think that engaged citizens are a welcome and valuable part of the process. i only wish every hearing drew the amount of interest that this hearing has drawn.