Should there be a fee to drive the 469-mile-long Blue Ridge Parkway?NPS
Imagine, for a moment, that you're in charge of setting fees for the National Park System. What would you charge for, and how much would you charge? Or would you charge anything at all?
Congress hasn't shown any great inclination to examine the fee system, other than to make some minor tweaks in a bid to generate more revenues for the parks. While debating the existing fees, and whether Congress is looking to fees to help fund the National Park Service could go on and on, for today's question let's avoid those debates and get creative in crafting a reasonable fee schedule for the parks. With that said, here are some things to consider in devising your fee schedule:
* Should there be entrance fees to national parks? If so, should each of the 401 units of the park system charge a fee?
* Is $80 a reasonable price for the annual America the Beautiful Pass that gets you into every park in the system that charges an entrance fee?
* Entrance fees vary quite a bit among the national parks. For example, Yellowstone National Park charges $25 for entrance for a seven-day period, Yosemite National Park charges $20 for seven days, Grand Canyon National Park charges $25 for seven days, Shenandoah National Park has a sliding scale depending on time of year that ranges from $10-$15, and Acadia National Park charges $20 for seven days. Should there be a consistent entrance fee charged across-the-board, and if so, how much should it be?
* Should the $10 Senior Pass, which you can purchase once you hit 62 and is good for the rest of your life, remain a flat $10? Should it be a one-time fee, or annual fee?
* Should there be a discounted annual pass for park travelers aged 18-24?
* Should there be an international pass for travelers coming from abroad to spend a few weeks exploring the National Park System?
* Since Great Smoky Mountains National Park can't charge an entrance fee for traffic on the Newfound Gap Road, should there be a fee to travel the 11-mile-loop road through Cades Cove? What about the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Natchez Trace Parkway, which also don't charge entrance fees to travel their bucolic landscapes.
* Should backcountry travelers have to pay a daily fee, or a permit fee, or both? If so, how much? Should the fees have a cap? Should those fees be uniform across the park system.
* Should horseback travelers pay the same amount as backpackers/hikers?
* Should off-road vehicles that head to places such as Cape Hatteras, Cape Lookout, and Padre Island national seashores have to charge fees above park entrance fees, and if so, should those fees be uniform across the system?
Those are just some of the issues that should be dissected; there no doubt are others you can think of. So have at it, travelers, how would you create a fee schedule for the parks?
Comments
Great Basin is no Yellowstone, correct. And that's why we enjoyed grandiose solitude in this wonderful park last year. And Baker is to GRBA what Cooke City is to YELL. Better compare West Yellowstone with Ely.
First I would like to thank Kurt for publishing the articles he has on topics like this.
The more I read on this article and comments the more I keep coming back to this point:
What would the founders of our National Parks think of all this if they alive here today? I can't imagine that John Muir, Theodore Roosevelt and Horace Kephart (GSMNP) would have wanted a tier system of various fees to enjoy our National Treasures.
I agree with posts like SmokiesBackpacker, hikerBA & Jim Casada, no fees. We already pay for our National Parks through our taxes. The NPS and Federal Government should be able to manage on the budgets they have from our taxes. If not, replace them with others who can. However by saying nothing on this thread is like saying I agree with any tiered fee structure, which I cannot do.
How many of us like the various fees we now have to pay to fly on any airline today? Why would anyone endorse this same or similar structure on anyone whom wants to enjoy our National Treasures?
Some have stated that the fees now are a bargain. Really? My oldest daughter is 18 years old, an adult. She makes $8.25/hr. How could she afford to pay entrance fees + tiered fees for activities? Are the National Parks only for citizens and people whom can afford to get in?
Comparing our entrance fees to the National Parks to Disney and theme parks is ridiculous. Our National Parks should be for getting away from civilization and back to the basics. We do not need luxury in the woods. Have we forgotten where we came from in our Nation?
Our National Parks are ours to cherish and enjoy and to preserve for future generations.
Andrew Sisson
Thanks for your thoughtful post, Andrew!
I'm pretty much in the 'No Fee' camp also, for several reasons.
My understanding is that most of these fees can't be used for 'Operations', only "improvements" (actually development) that compound the maintenance backlog both by increasing inventory and by diverting staff from existing maintenance.
The vast majority of my NPS maintenance supervisers didn't really "manage". Most spent much of their time trying to fill the eye of the manager above them & lusting after more of everything, and typically left the actual managing to subordinates like myself.
It's also hard to support increasing NPS revenues when many park managers are extremely reluctant to share their fiscal details, even after formal FOIA requests.
Finally, there are many of us like your daughter, who can barely afford to drive to the nearest National Park, let alone be nickel & dimed endlessly by an out of touch, never satisfied, top-heavy bureaucracy.
It's true that our parks are supposedly supported by our taxes. But what portion of our taxes actually reach the parks?
Not much.
If Congress would spend the money needed to properly maintain and operate the parks, fees would be unnecessary. But Congress doesn't.
Just taking the dollars spent on one or two F-35s or a few cruise missiles would fund the parks very nicely.
Priorities . . . . .
Then there are those voters who cry loudly for gutting government spending who then turn around and scream if their own pets are left wanting.
Priorities . . . .
Any suggestions for solutions?
Since they "can't" [choke] charge at the Smokies, then they shouldn't be charging anywhere.
Since that's never going to happen, the fee schedule should be consistent over the entire park system, no exceptions (well, maybe, dubiously, the sites on the National Mall), and the rates should be based on annual visitation. Period.
I buy an annual parks pass every year the same way I buy AAA coverage [wry g].
Amen. The goal for food and lodging in the parks should be to make it as affordable for everyone as possible. Those who want luxury should be staying in gateway communities.
I would love to see a box to check on my tax form that says " I would like to contribute a dollar to help the maintainance backlog of the NPS" right next to the one for helping pay for "Presidential elections" Aside from that I do not mind the fees because it seems small to me. In my view parks maintainance should be paid by taxes because we all own the parks and it is everyones responsibillity to take care of them. I guess use fees could cover park personel and things I impact while I am there.
I like that suggestion on the tax form, David.