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
I agree we shouldn't be talking about how fees should be structured but how to get rid of all these random fees. I can't tell when I am in a park what requires a fee and what doesn't. Maybe an entrance fee but certainly not backcountry fees, paddling fees, etc. Surely the guy saying they should charge 4x the fee for entering a park must indeed work for the NPS they seem to have never met a fee or fee hike they didn't love.
I'll try to keep this in bullet points:
Entrance fees: Group the parks into tiers (I can think of perhaps 5). Entrance fees for all parks within a tier should be the same. Tiers could be based on attendance or on facilities provided (for instance, does the park offer a shuttle service). Then price accordingly. I can see the top parks charging $40-$50 for a 7 day pass, mid-tier $20, lower tier $10, etc. Keep the existing system of charging per car, not per person - the parks should do all they can to encourage families to come and charging per person will price many families out.
Campgrounds: Keep the fee structure as is.
Passes: Seniors should have to pay a per year fee for a deeply discounted pass ($20/year would be reasonable). Permanently disabled and military veterans should receive free lifetime passes. No discounts for 18-64. They should raise the regular America the Beautiful pass fee to $100/yr (that's still only 5 of the bigger parks to get your money's worth). Keep the system in place that allows international travelers to buy the standard AtB pass, there's no reason to have a special international pass. Allow each park the ability to have their own yearly park pass that is good only in that park.
Backcountry camping permits for established backcountry campsites should be $5/night across all parks.
High impact activities such as ATV, ORV or mountain biking (where allowed) should have special use fees to cover the maintenance those activities require.
"Drive through" parks such as Smoky Mountain are trickier but I do think that there should be an entrance fee to access places like Cades Cove and to park at trailheads for hiking.
Finally, your entrance fee should cover all activites not listed above, such as ranger-led programs, access to all public areas of a park, visitor's center activities, and park shuttles.
My rationale for this is simple - park systems that charge entrance and use fees, even nominal fees, are healthier park systems than those that do not. This is most evident on the state level, especially in the Midwest where the contrast between those states that charge an entrance fee (Michigan/Wisconsin/Indiana) and those that do not (Illinois/Iowa) is night and day.
Philosophically and practically I am basically opposed to fees to use facilities which are taxpayer funded. For example, researchers do not have to pay to use public archives and no one pays to use libraries which hold or are designated as depositories for public documents.
That being out of the way, and Kurt may reprimand me for what follows but I am genuinely trying to address the issue of fees, I do have three thoughts.
(1) IF (and I've already noted I'm opposed) fees are to be charged, I strongly believe all veterans should get free entrance. They have served us all, often done so at considerable sacrifice to family and their personal well-being, and at least in the lower ranks invariably done so at pay scales which don't exactly equate to a top-drawer lifestyle or financial well-being. They deserve some type of token thank you (sure aren't getting it through VA health care) and this would be one way to do that. Incidentally, if I may for a moment sermonize--take time whenever you can to thank those men and women who have served in our armed forces.
(2) The approach to concessionaires needs a thorough analysis and major reworking. Two posts above, one on the lodge on Mt. LeConte and the money-making machine it is for the operators and the other on the absolutely exorbitant costs for lodging and meals in some parks, highlight what is a general issue. I have no problem whatsoever with concessionaires making a reasonable living and return on their efforts. However, there is something fundamentally flawed when they are profiting in an incredible fashion. Also, in the situation I know best, there has long been a behind-the-scenes kind of favoritism with certain concessionaires.
(3) Take a long, objective look at the salaries paid Park employees, especially those at the higher pay grades and examine just how functional and effective the overall bureaucracy is. Again, in the system I know best, there is and long has been bureaucratic bloat.
Addressing points 2 and 3 admittedly won't resolve all Park-related monetary issues, but it would make a mighty fine start.
Jim Casada
If the federal government cannot manage it with the funds they have, let the states do it then. The mismanagement is ridiculous.
Agree tnbackpacker. Can tomorrow's question be "how can we get creative to ELIMINATE all fees for our parks"
I as "small government" as one can get and agree that better efficiencies can be obtained. That said, I see no problem with fees in some cases. I agree with the tiered fee system. Similar (in kind and public demand) parks would have the same fees with the top fee capped - I like the current $20.00. These fees would cover a set of basic services with "premium" services being paid ala-carte.
Backcountry fees of $5 bucks - no problem, if they are applied to backcountry services not to some unneeded reservation system.
American the Beautiful at $80. Its a deal if you use it a lot but you need to visit 5+ fee charging parks to make it pay. Most people don't do that and to encourage more frequent visits isn't a bad thing.
$10 seniors - a give away - but don't change it until next year ;)
International. If they are spending the bucks to get here, they can afford to pay the entrance fees.
A digression, but left Great Basin park today. No entrance fee. Great Basin is proof positive that putting NP on the name doesn't create a vibrant gateway city. Baker is a virtual ghost town. Its the land and location that creates the gateway cities not the NP label. Great Basin is no Yellowstone and Baker is no Cody.
Was that your first visit to Great Basin, ec?
By comparison to just a few years ago, Baker is booming today. As visitation to GRBA continues to grow, so will Baker.
As for park fees -- let's remember that when compared with other venues, our parks are bargains with a big capital B. One day at Disneyworld will cost $100 per adult and $80 per kid. And that's before spending anything for souvenirs and $12 hamburgers. A family can visit a whole lot of national parks for what they'd spend in one day there.