William Helms: “roads in national parks are vital pieces of economic infrastructure that fuel the engines of economic growth. In fact…”

“roads in national parks are vital pieces of economic infrastructure that fuel the engines of economic growth. In fact, the National Park Service itself recognizes as much on its Web site. Let me quote: ``Recreation travel accounts for 20 percent of travel in the United States. Park roads are a vital part of America's transportation network, providing economic opportunity and growth in rural regions of the country. In addition to the park access, motor tourism has created viable gateway communities en route. In some areas entire economies are based on park road access. Examples include communities near Yellowstone, Glacier, and Great Smoky Mountains National Parks, and the Blue Ridge Parkway.'' Why on Earth, then, are these economic benefits denied to the people living in the counties on the North Carolina side of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park? I will tell you why. The Department of the Interior and the National Park Service have been held hostage by self- proclaimed environmentalists and their sympathizers in the Interior Department who are horrified, obviously, by their pretended apprehension that environmental Armageddon will somehow result from the construction of a simple ``two-lane dustless road,'' as specifically called for in the 1943 agreement, signed by the Federal Government.”