So, the latest information out of Washington is that the National Park Service is considering an increase in fees associated with private vehicles, starting in 2018. Why all of a sudden. Certainly, as I've written about before, our parks are getting quite popular to the point where they're considering requiring reservations for entry. I get it. Too many people in the park ruins the experience for everyone. That said, they're also looking to increase the fee from $30/car to $70 at the most popular parks, and beginning Monday, they've opened a comment portal so that the public can weigh in.
Why such a dramatic hike?
Math. The reason is math. Trump's proposed budget cuts about $1.5 Billion (with a B) from the Department of the Interior. Also, the Trump Administration is considering the removal of approximately 4,000 jobs from the Department. That's not to say that the work won't get done, but like many businesses, there's a theory that if you hire contractors for the same work that used to be performed by salaried employees, it'll cost you less in the long run because you're not paying benefits. That is, until the contractors start bending the government over and start charging them through the...well, let's keep this polite.
Here's the math. The National Park Service releases annual visitor information for the top 10 most visited parks. The following qualify: Acadia, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Rocky Mountain, Olympic, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion. Using data from 2014-2016, each park has averaged a 112% increase over the previous year. It's safe to assume 2017 will look similarly. For those playing the home game, and for these 10 parks, that's 33.1 million visitors in 2014, 36.9 million in 2015, and 4.14 million in 2016.
Now, the Trump Administration plans to reduce funding to DoI from $13.2 Billion to $11.7 Billion. Using the 112% to extrapolate both 2017 and then to 2018 (when increases should hit), assuming that 90% of visitors use private vehicles (some estimates are higher than that), the jump from $30/car to $70/car would increase Park revenues by $1.66 in just those parks...more than the proposed cut by the White House.
So, the question is, do they need it. Arguably, yes, in my estimation we can't spend enough on our National Parks. And this data is just from the 10 most visited. Revenues will be far higher than what I'm back-of-the-napkin calculating here. However, there are some questions: is it fair to me and am I being billed twice? That depends. We as Americans have always financed our National Park system through a mix of local spending and Federal taxes. And, as the new Tax plan rears its ugly head, and NJ residents look to take it on the chin based on our ridiculous property taxes (Thank you Love Gov for not helping with that!), then, technically, paying more Federal taxes and then paying a higher entrance fee does mean that you're paying twice. That's a personal gripe. What's more, I can afford it, and the price hike won't deter me and my family from visiting. Take my money. National Parks rule! But what about lower income Americans? Will this price them out from a visit? We won't know until 2018 demographic information is released...sometime in 2020. National Geographic reports that there has been, in recent years, increased diversity in both the employee and visitor populations. Will this decline? Only time will tell.
In the meantime, you as the American public have an opportunity to put your two cents in. The NPS has activated a comment portal, and if this is important to you, I would encourage you to weigh in...especially since the White House plans on reducing the size of National Monuments or using them for non-renewable resource exploration. And, places like Glacier may have to change their name after Global Warming is through with them, because that's a thing and signs cost money.
The National Park formally known as Glacier? Doesn't have the same ring and is way longer.
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