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BY RUSTY DENNEN

After years of belt tightening that has taken a toll on cherished programs, and even basic services, area national parks are getting some good news.

It comes in the form of a budget increase proposed by President Bush, who stopped by Shenandoah National Park yesterday to talk about additional funding and public-private initiatives to keep the money coming.

Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park would get an additional $195,000 next year, Superintendent Russ Smith said.

"This is very good news for us. It doesn't mean Congress will pass it, but we're hopeful," he said of president's spending plan.

The park, which encompasses four major Civil War battlefields--Fredericksburg, Chancellorsville, Wilderness and Spotsylvania Court House--would be able to hire more seasonal workers and to help cover maintenance costs.

The battlefields have been increasingly relying on volunteers and cutting hours at some attractions to help take up the slack.

Smith said the park here could also get a share of money earmarked for things such as land acquisition.

For several years, "What we've been facing is flat budgets." That means fewer seasonal workers who help interpret park history for visitors, less mowing, painting and other maintenance, and unfilled positions.

With the 100th anniversary of the nation's park system coming up in 2016, the time is right, Catharine Gilliam, the National Parks Conservation Association's Virginia program manager, said yesterday.

The association has called on lawmakers to replenish funds for basic services, while adding new money over the long term.

Fredericksburg-area parks "will certainly benefit substantially," Gilliam said, along with the local economy. "Our research shows that there is a better than 4 to 1 return on every dollar invested in national parks."

Civil War battlefields here had about 1.6 million visitors last year.

The president's $2.4 billion 2008 budget plan calls for the largest increase ever for operations, which directly affect visitors. Another component is public-private investments that could generate up to $3 billion to help parks prepare for the centennial.

Park operations would receive $150 million to hire 3,000 additional seasonal workers, 1,000 for historic interpretation, 1,000 maintenance workers, and 1,000 park rangers.

Several national parks in Virginia would get increases, ranging from a few hundred thousand dollars, up to $1.8 million for Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a 17 percent increase over this year.

Speaking at the park near Luray, Bush said lawmakers must do their part.

"Congress needs to hear loud and clear how important this initiative is," he told The Associated Press..