The members of the AICP recognize the importance of safeguarding the country's natural resources for the appreciation of citizens today and for future generations. Our twin goals of preservation and continued access, both for the public and for the film production community, are the basis of these comments today. We believe that continuing to provide the production community access to film in National Parks is a worthwhile goal that will neither jeopardize the protection of Park resources nor impact negatively on public access. Let me start by noting that of all types of filming, television commercial production has the least impact on a location. That's because filming time for a commercial is shorter, and smaller crews tend to be used.
Most commercial productions are on location sites only a couple of days.
In addition, commercial producers are acutely aware of the need to leave location sites in pristine condition in order to assure that companies will be able to shoot there again in the future. While this limited presence applies only to commercial production, it is important to recognize that film productions of any stripe provide distinct benefits to the surrounding areas through the revenues they bring into local economies. Hotels, restaurants, and merchants all profit from the presence. This has been the case with filming on other public lands, and holds true as well for National Parks. National Parks offer desirable locations for filming television commercials.