National Park Service reconsiders fee increase

WASHINGTON — Trump administration proposal to steeply increase entrance fees to the most popular national parks landed with a thud when it was presented in November, and park officials say they are now reconsidering it.

The proposal, which would apply during the peak visitor season to 17 parks, including the Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Yosemite, called for a $70 fee for noncommercial vehicles, up from $30. The fee for motorcycles would rise to $50 from $25, while pedestrians and cyclists would be charged $30, up from $15.

Officials received more than 109,000 comments during a monthlong public comment period last year, with most comments against the increase. Many said they would no longer be able to afford a trip or would choose other options for vacations.

“If you enact this insane fee, I will no longer be able to afford to visit the national parks,” one said. “If that is your ultimate goal, well done.”

A National Park Service spokesman said last week the plan was “still being reviewed and not yet finalized.”

“We’ve taken the public’s suggestions seriously and have amended the plan to reflect those,” the service said in a statement.

No information was available about how the plan was amended. But some lawmakers hope a bipartisan bill introduced in March, led by Rep. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., could address funding shortfalls. It would use revenue from energy produced on federal lands to chip away at a backlog of maintenance projects, estimated to cost more than $11 billion, at national parks.

Richard Dolesh, vice president for strategic initiatives at the National Recreation and Park Association, an advocacy group, said he was pleased the administration appeared to be moving away from the initial proposal. He said his group was not opposed to a more moderate fee increase, but that higher fees alone would not address the maintenance backlog, which includes basic infrastructure needs such as rebuilding roads and facility improvements.

The proposal would cover national parks including Acadia, Arches, Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Denali, Glacier, Grand Canyon, Grand Teton, Joshua Tree, Mount Rainier, Rocky Mountain, Olympic, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Shenandoah, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Zion.