At a press conference just days short of the March 1 deadline, Jonathan Jarvis, director of the National Park Service, and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, outlined how so-called "sequestration" will hurt the country in general and national parks in particular. (See pictures of the top ten national park landmarks.)

"In 2011," summarized Salazar, "279 million visitors came to our national parks, pumped 30 billion dollars into the economy, and supported 252,000 jobs."

The report for 2012, just out, shows that park visitation grew by three million, to 283 million.

The park system is also doing its part to address the U.S. trade imbalance. Last year, according to Salazar, the parks drew 62 million international visitors and $152 million in foreign