Bryce Canyon National Park is proposing to increase backcountry user fees/NPS file
Bryce Canyon National Park in Utah is proposing to increase backcountry camping permit fees beginning in 2022 to offset increased expenses associated with managing the backcountry.
Under the proposal, the current $5 per person fee would change into a $15 permit fee plus a fee of $7 per day per person in the backcountry.
In a release, the park said 80 percent of backcountry fees stay at the park. These fees currently fund the staff necessary to issue backcountry permits, provide safety information, and aid in search and rescue efforts. Backcountry fees also provide for free loans of wildlife-resistant food containers as well as backcountry campsite and trail improvements including improved signage and tent pads.
Since 2011, Bryce Canyon’s backcountry has seen a 36 percent increase in overnight stays. Costs associated with backcountry maintenance and administration have risen with this increased use, though fees have not. Park personnel on Friday couldn't immediately cite the dollar or percentage increase in those associated costs since 2011.
The proposed fee increase is intended to offset those costs as well as to cover the costs of offering permits online through Recreation.gov.
“We are committed to providing access to our backcountry,” said Bryce Canyon Jim Ireland. “The money from backcountry permits will ensure we can continue to provide an exceptional visitor experience.”
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Comments
And by that same logic why are they not raising entrance fees to recover the cost of constructing the buildings, roads and all other infastructure within our park?
Because that's an entirely different approval process and uses an entirely different and more controlled fund source. Parks shouldn't be charging fees in the first place, they should be getting all the money they need through Congress. This is an attempt to try to make up for the lacking operations budget provided by Congress.
If we just keep raising entrance fees, people who come from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will be locked out. And that goes entirely against the NPS mission of accessibility and opportunity for all people to visit and enjoy the national parks.
Blame Congress for not wanting to invest in our public lands, not the parks for trying to find solutions that don't entirely lock out people who can't afford to spend an arm and a leg to visit a park. Parks charging fees is because Congress hasn't been supporting one of America's most popular ideas.