US National Park Service spells out requirements for funding of American Samoa's outdoor recreationa
3:09 pm on 2 February 2007
The U.S. National Park Services says it will work with the American Samoa government to restore federal funding for the development of the territory's outdoor recreational areas.
American Samoa lost 150,000 US dollars over three years under the Land and Water Conservation Fund administered by the service which oversees the Utulei beach public park.
One of the criteria the territory needed to meet before funding would be restored was to resolve the McDonald's land lease dispute at Utulei Beach.
The lease has since been cancelled by mutual agreement between McDonald's and the local government.
David Siegenthaler of the NPS regional office in California says one issue that still needs to be addressed before funding is restored is the Territorial Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan, which will need to be re-evaluated and completed before being approved by the National Park Service.
Mr Siegenthaler says once the plan has been brought up to date, it can be approved by the National Park Service and American Samoa can then submit applications for funding from the conservation fund.