Despite budget cutbacks for the already crumbling national park system, outgoing Bush bureaucrats are spending more than $1 million to meet at Snowbird to hype their accomplishments.

Accomplishments? The Associated Press reports Bush entered office promising to eliminate a multibillion-dollar maintenance backlog in the park system, fix its buildings, roads and trails. He leaves with the parks in worse shape.

Bill Wade, a head of the retired park employees association says:

This [Snowbird confab] is being done almost exclusively to try to bolster the legacy of the department and the political leaders and the Bush administration, in their last year. [The agenda is to point out] "all of the great things that they've done for parks and conservation, when most of us believe they've done far more harm than good.

Set for mid-July, the meeting include addresses from Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, Park Service Director Mary Bomar and Gov. Huntsman.

Utah, of course, is home to many of the jewels of the national park system. Why are these park officials meeting at a private resort when they could be put up at one of the park lodges? Better yet, why aren't they pitching tents at the campgrounds like the rest of us where they could live the parks infrastructure needs.

Above: Fort Yellowstone Jail falling into ruin.