National Parks' Entrance Fee: State Attorneys General Oppose Hike

The United States Secretary of Interior Ryan Zinke’s plan to hike the entrance fee of national parks across the country, a proposal he unveiled Oct. 24, has stirred outrage among the people. The fee would be increased to $70 from $25 or $30 and come into effect from next year.

Now, the attorneys general (AGs) have also joined the list of people who are enraged. Late Wednesday, a group of the top government lawyers from 10 states and the District of Columbia urged the National Park Service (NPS) to scrap the proposal to hike fees at 17 national parks, Associated Press reported. They claimed such an increase would put the parks out of reach for everyone except the wealthy.

"We cannot let the most popular and awe-inspiring national parks become places for the wealthy," the attorneys said in a letter to the Park Service’s acting director.

The NPS estimated higher fees would bring in an extra revenue of $70 million annually, which would be used to clear their maintenance and infrastructure backlog. But, the AGs said such a revenue can be generated only if visitors come in, which would not be the case due to the hike in the fees, according to the AP report. The AGs also mentioned the increase has not been proposed keeping in mind the laws governing the park system as the authorities have not provided a plausible economic analysis to support the raise in fees.

The letter was also signed by the attorneys general of Maine, Massachusetts, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington. The fee would affect heavily visited parks such as Glacier, Grand Canyon, Yosemite, Zion, Acadia, Yellowstone and Shenandoah. Five AGs, who signed the letter, have parks in their states, while six do not, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Spokeswoman for Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh, Raquel Coombs, said it does not matter whether Maryland has a park or not but that "everyone should have access to our nation’s national parks."

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, in a separate statement, said he and his colleagues would take legal action if the plan comes into effect, the Coloradoan, a Fort Collins, Colorado-based daily newspaper reported.

Senior political strategist for the environmental group Friends of the Earth, Ben Schreiber, was among those who stressed the plan would make parks unaffordable for millions of Americans, the website E&E News reported.

"The Trump administration is turning our national parks into an exclusive playground for the rich," he said.

Due to the public outrage, the NPS has opened a portal to receive people’s comments on the fee hike. The deadline for the same was Nov. 23 but has been extended to Dec. 22 due to "intense interest among people," Colorado-based newspaper Sky-Hi News reported. The comments can also be mailed to National Park Service, Recreation Fee Program, 1849 C Street, NW, Mail Stop: 2346 Washington, DC 20240.