Perhaps good news out of DC

[Jim Davis]

It seems that the Park Service really heard the public on their plans to double the fees at the National Parks.

Plan to More Than Double National Park Entrance Fees Halted By Public Backlash | Travel + Leisure

[CampNow]

The NPS has been seriously under-funded for decades. Without sufficient funding from Congress, the NPS simply tried to increase funding using the only option available to them.

Although the facade the general public sees is kept reasonably presentable, behind the scenes there are huge tracts of public land that have been left unmaintained, unsupervised, and unprotected. Doesn't bode well for future generations.

[KCSA75]

“An investment in our parks is an investment in America,” said U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke. “Every dollar spent to rebuild our parks will help bolster the gateway communities that rely on park visitation for economic vitality. I want to thank the American people who made their voices heard through the public comment process on the original fee proposal. Your input has helped us develop a balanced plan that focuses on modest increases at the 117 fee-charging parks as opposed to larger increases proposed for 17 highly-visited national parks. The $11.6 billion maintenance backlog isn’t going to be solved overnight and will require a multi-tiered approach as we work to provide badly needed revenue to repair infrastructure. This is just one of the ways we are carrying out our commitment to ensure that national parks remain world class destinations that provide an excellent value for families from all income levels.”
The price of the annual America the Beautiful National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Annual Pass and Lifetime Senior Pass will remain $80."
https://www.nps.gov/orgs/1207/04-12-...rance-fees.htm

In the end the Park Service raised most entrance fees by $5 across the board.
https://www.nps.gov/aboutus/entrance-fee-prices.htm

[farnik78]

It doesn’t matter which program or department, the sob story is always the same from the government. It doesn’t matter how high taxes and fees are, they will always claim there is a funding shortage. Milton Friedman said, “if you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara desert, in five years there would be a shortage of sand.” He is absolutely correct.