When people hear that the government is taking public comment on some proposal or other, theres a natural temptation to think, Bah, why bother? Its a done deal. They never read those emails anyway.
Officials might not read every single email, but when 100,000 people write in overwhelmingly against an idea, that matters. Such was the case with a plan to jack up entrance fees at national parks. The parks need more money, but this was not the way to get it.
Last year, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke announced plans to increase fees at 17 national parks, mostly in the West. The list included Rocky Mountain National Park, right in Denvers backyard.
Rates would have more than doubled to $70 for cars during peak season. Bikers, pedestrians and motorcyclists also would have seen increases this year. At Rocky Mountain, a weekly vehicle pass costs $30 during the peak season of June to October. Jumping to $70, then, is a significant increase. The plan also would have eliminated the $20 daily pass, a cost-effective option for day-trippers.
Happily, Americans reacted strongly against the changes in their written comments, and the Interior Department backpedaled.
Compared to taking the family to Disneyland, the fees might have still been a bargain, but they would have made public lands cost-prohibitive to too many working-class families. These beautiful natural and historic places belong to everyone, and everyone deserves a chance to enjoy them.
To be fair, Zinke and the National Park Service are in a tough position. For years, funding for national parks has been insufficient. Trails and campgrounds need updates; structures need repairs; roads and parking areas need patching; and so on. All told, the Park Service has $11.6 billion of deferred maintenance. Rocky Mountain alone needs $84 million.
Finding those dollars will be harder than restoring grizzlies to the North Cascades. The proposed fee increases would have helped by raising about $70 million, but thats just a drop compared to the overall problem.
The real money is in Congress hands. The federal spending bill passed last month after many, many delays did include some small help, about $160 million for Park Service repairs. That leaves only $11.4 billion to go. At least lawmakers did not go along with President Donald Trump, who wanted to cut the Park Service budget.
Voters who care about their public lands should be sure to put candidates on the spot in the run-up to November. Ask them if they will give national parks the money they need.
Meanwhile, more people visit national parks. Long lines at entrance gates belie crowds of people who stress already precarious infrastructure and ecosystems. More than 4.4 million people visited Rocky Mountain last year. That was a slight dip from last year but was 50 percent higher than four years ago.
Thirty-five years ago, writer and historian Wallace Stegner wrote, National Parks are the best idea we ever had. Absolutely American, absolutely democratic, they reflect us at our best rather than our worst. If they are to remain beautiful, untrammeled places that everyone, regardless of income, has a chance to visit, then as a country we must figure out how to support and protect them without turning them into retreats for the wealthy.
The Denver Post
