Appeal Filed In Legal Battle Over National Park Service Cashless Policy

A fresh appeal (attached below) has been filed in the legal battle over cashless policies at some national parks. 

The case originated in 2024 when three people sued the National Park Service due to a rule that allows parks to accept only credit card, debit card and in some cases mobile payments at entrance gates, gift shops and other facilities. The suit argues that the policy is unreasonable, an abuse of discretion, and that federal law states that legal tender is suitable "for all public charges."

Two of the original plaintiffs dropped out of the case, and it was dismissed by U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly in November. The appeal was filed Wednesday in the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on behalf of the remaining plaintiff, Toby Stover, who lives in New York.

The complaint states that Stover was turned away when she tried to use cash to pay the entrance fee at Home of Franklin D. Roosevelt, a national historic site in Hyde Park, New York. 

President Donald Trump issued an executive order last year that mandates a reduction in the amount of cash and checks handled by the federal government. Dozens of national park sites had already gone cashless or planned to before the order, citing the workload on staff as one reason.

When Cape Cod National Seashore went cashless last summer, Superintendent Jennifer Flynn said cash transactions represented only 10 percent of in-person sales at the park but even still taking only credit cards would save her staff time.

“During the busy summer season, park rangers spend up to eight-and-a-half-hours per day documenting, reporting, and transferring cash receipts," Flynn said in a news release at the time. "Moving to a cashless system will reduce the amount of time park staff spend managing cash and increase their availability to engage with the public and collect fees while increasing the amount of fee revenue available to support critical projects and visitor services.” 

When Death Valley National Park transitioned to cashless payments in 2023, officials there said they expended more than $40,000 the previous year to process $22,000 in cash transactions. Those costs included an armored car contract to transport cash, plus staff time counting money and filling out related paperwork.

In a news release this week, Ray Flores, the attorney who filed Stover's appeal, questioned whether "the U.S. Government has the right to refuse to accept the currency it demands we use.”

Flores is asking the court to reverse the appeal so that the original case can proceed, or to declare that no-cash policies in national parks are illegal.