Visitors observe the steam phase at Steamboat Geyser, Yellowstone National Park.
This is an urgent notice for anyone who cares about our public lands and, in particular, access to our National Parks:
The National Park Service has extended the period of public comment regarding a proposal to increase visitor fees to certain parks in an effort to recoup some of the approximately $11.5 billion maintenance backlog that has built up over years of negligence from Congress. The deadline for submitting comment is now December 22, 2017 at 11:59 PM Mountain Time (1:59 AM East Coast time on Dec. 23, or 10:59 PM on the American West Coast).
The proposal would impose fees of at least $50 per person (and more depending on vehicle type) on a select number of parks. You can read more about the fee proposal in this article from Outside Magazine. You can also read more about how the fee proposal would negatively impact local communities in this December article, also from Outside.
The sheer existence and size of the backlog is an American tragedy, but steep fees are fraught with hazard, including exacerbating inequality by making our shared public heritage increasingly the playground of the elite, and are not a sustainable long-term solution to either the backlog or overcrowding in the parks.
Below is the comment that I submitted, and you can submit your own at this link:
“Our National Parks are a critical part of our shared cultural heritage in the United States, and belong to all people equally, without qualification or regard for class or status. The multi-billion dollar maintenance backlog is devastating, and has caused me personal consternation for some time. In an ideal scenario, our lawmakers would understand the critical democratic role that preserving our public lands plays toward advancing discourse and inspiring generations toward natural and historic preservation, and would do their jobs and fully fund the National Park Service. Coming up with the funds to fund maintenance and preservation is the onus of our elected representatives, whose job it is to ensure equitable access to our shared common heritage. For this reason, I cannot support any special consumer pricing, which would further result in our National Parks increasingly becoming the exclusive playgrounds of the privileged, wealthy, and elite. It is the responsibility of the National Park Service, the Park Service Foundation, supporters of the parks, and most critically, the Secretary of the Interior, to organize constituents and lobby lawmakers to adequately fund the National Park System. That we are at the point of having to price Americans out of their public lands is direct evidence of the Secretary’s abdication of leadership to ensure full, equitable access to our pristine lands for all Americans. It is his job to lobby Congress for adequate funding for our parks, but he seems to have found greater enjoyment in negotiating away their access and bargaining with extractive industries than defending the right of the American people to enjoy God’s natural endowment upon our great land. Furthermore, in the age of mass urbanization, public demand for access to wild places will only continue to increase, further escalating the impetus of Congress to fully fund and revitalize the National Parks. Such an intervention like the proposed visitor fees would only constitute a temporary stop-gap measure that would fail to drive enough permanent revenue to repair the backlog, while exacerbating inequality over the long term. If you want to solve your problems, the National Park Service, the National Park Foundation, and chiefly, the Secretary of the Interior, must become vocal and tireless advocates and organizers in defense of public access, in the halls of Congress on an obnoxious and daily basis. It will take work, but our precious parks are worth the effort.”
This comment reflects only my personal opinion on the issue, but you are welcome to share it or write your own using the link above. In an era of constant breaking news and incessant appeals for advocacy on a range of pressing issues, I encourage you to weigh in and contribute to helping preserve our gorgeous, serene National Parks, so that future generations of Americans can continue to find awe and inspiration among “America’s Best Idea.”
James Carli grew up exploring the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and is a dedicated conservationist committed to equitable and sustainable recreation for all people, effectively administered by good governance informed by science in the public interest. You can find him on Twitter @JimCarli.