Editorial: Protecting our heritage

Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2007 | 7:01 a.m.

National artifacts have been stolen and others have been damaged because of deteriorating facilities and security-staff cutbacks at the Smithsonian Institution, a federal report says.

The report released Friday by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, says parts of the Smithsonian's museums and its National Zoo are crumbling under a $2.5 billion construction and maintenance backlog, much of which the GAO cited as problematic in 2005.

A lack of humidity and temperature control at the National Air and Space Museum has resulted in the corrosion of historic airplanes, the GAO says in its most recent report. The National Zoo's sea lion and seal exhibits have been losing 110,000 gallons of water a day because of leaks. And leaks in the National Museum of African Art have endangered the artwork exhibited and stored there, the GAO says.

Additionally, vandalism and theft have increased because cutbacks in security staff since 2003 have left some museums and displays virtually unguarded. Thieves stole fossils from the National Museum of Natural History in November. And 35 incidents of vandalism have been reported since 2005.

The Smithsonian, founded in 1846, has grown into the world's largest museum and research organization. It is managed by a board of regents and funded by a private trust and federal money. Typically, federal money has paid for most facilities projects.

In 2005 the GAO advised the institution's board to create a plan for privately funding the overdue repairs, but the new GAO report says no such plan exists.

The Smithsonian's buildings aren't merely office space. The museums and research centers house some of the United States' richest historical and cultural assets.

Certainly, the Smithsonian's regents should implement the plan that the GAO has recommended. Congress needs to stay on top of this situation and make certain that security is improved and emergency repairs are made so that the important artifacts housed in these buildings are adequately protected.