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NATIONAL PARK SERVICE RE-THINKS MASSIVE FEE INCREASE
 April, 2018 - The NPS has backed off - for now - on their proposed surge pricing of up to $75 to visit the most popular Parks during their busiest seasons. They received over 100,000 comments, of which 98% OPPOSED the proposal, according to the
Washington Post!
That's great, but before you breathe a sigh of relief and declare victory, don't overlook the most insidious part of the proposal - surge pricing during the most popular times of year. Although they got the message that $70-$75 was too high, the NPS is far from having given up on surge pricing as a strategy.
Revenue generation, so far, is much more important to the NPS than either conservation or public access.
The NPS is considering a long list of other fee-increase possibilities that have been proposed in the past by the National Park Hospitality Association, which represents the private concessionaires doing business in the Parks, including:
- Per-person entrance fees instead of per-carload
- Charging daily fees, vs the current weekly price
- Lowering the age for free entrance from 16 to 12
- Charging a fee for disabled visitors (including disabled veterans), who currently are entitled to free entry
- Charging foreign visitors premium fees
- Variable pricing - lower on advanced purchase, higher on same-day entry
Backing off on this particular proposal is a strategic retreat by the NPS, not a surrender! The forces trying to turn our National Parks into mere theme parks are not giving up, and neither can you! We will continue to monitor carefully and keep you informed.
BACKGROUND:
On October 24, 2017 the National Park Service issued
an announcement that they wanted to implement a huge "targeted" increase in entrance fees at the most popular National Parks. Their "target"? Families whose vacation schedules are tied to the school calendar, lower-income visitors, and your wallet! These 17 parks would charge a premium entry fee during their peak season, more than doubling the current cost of a single-visit entry to $70!
The parks involved, along with their peak season when the increase would be in effect are:
- May 1-September 30 for Arches National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Denali National Park, Glacier National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Grand Teton National Park, Olympic National Park, Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Yosemite National Park, Zion National Park
- June 1-October 31 for Acadia National Park, Mount Rainier National Park, Rocky Mountain National Park, Shenandoah National Park
- January 1-May 31 for Joshua Tree National Park
A pass for unlimited visits to a single park during its peak season was proposed to cost $75.
But let's be realistic: nobody who can afford $70 or $75 would pay it to visit a single Park! At those prices, you'd be crazy not to buy an annual all-Parks, all-seasons "America the Beautiful" pass for $80. For only $5 or $10 more than what was proposed as the single-visit or single-Park fee, you can visit all the Parks all year long. Clearly, that $80 price won't last long - in fact an increase to at least $100 has been suggested by the park concessionaires for years.
The justification cited for this massive increase was to address backlogged maintenance. But the NPS only anticipated that it would raise an additional $68 million - which would barely touch their claimed backlog of $12 BILLION. They haven't revealed how they calculated that $68 million, but given that most people would have bought an America the Beautiful Pass, their estimate was probably wildly optimistic.
Further complicating things, the revenue from America the Beautiful pass sales stays at the site where the pass is purchased, even if that's a Forest Service, BLM, or other non-NPS site, or an NPS site that doesn't charge a fee at all, so even if this were implemented, many Parks would miss out on the hoped-for funding. At the same time, basic economics says that raising the price would deter visitation, especially by families and lower-income visitors - groups that the Parks claim to be trying to attract.
The bottom line? Under this - for now - failed proposal, America's best places at the most desirable times of the year would have only been available to the wealthiest few.
Many members of Congress weighed in against this proposal. You should contact your
U.S. Representative and both of your
U.S. Senators
. Thank them for helping get this stopped, but remind them that the NPS has several more bad ideas in the pipeline that would make our National Parks more expensive for families to visit and ask them to stay vigilant!
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Years of effort by equestrians for free access to their own public lands have achieved a happy outcome on the Wayne National Forest. Horse owners there have long been required to buy a "Trail Permit" to ride anywhere on the 79 miles of trail that are open to equestrian use. The other trails on the Wayne don't allow horses, so there has been no place where you could ride a horse without paying a fee. The Forest's justification for this was that private horseback riding is a "specialized recreation use," putting it in the same legal category as commercial uses, organized events, and large group gatherings, which is ridiculous.