Getting into Big Bend, home to Santa Elena Canyon and the Rio Grande River, could be more expensive beginning in 2015/Rebecca Latson
Getting into Big Bend National Park in Texas could be a little bit more expensive next year, as officials are proposing a $5 increase in the daily entrance fee for vehicles and a $2 increase in the backcountry camping fee.
Park officials are following a directive National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis sent out in August that outlines fee increases designed to bring uniformity to the entrance fees charged across the park system. That directive lumped the 131 parks that charge entrance fees into four categories. The four groupings are intended to reflect the size and expense of running a park. So parks such as Yellowstone in Wyoming, Grand Canyon in Arizona, Glacier in Montana, and Yosemite in California would be in Group 4, while parks such as Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area in Wyoming, Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Maryland, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve in Idaho would be in Group 1.
While the directive didn't order parks to raise fees, many are proposing to do so. In the case of Big Bend, the fee for driving your vehicle into the park would bump up from $20 to $25 if the proposal is OKed. That fee would allow you to spend seven days in the park before having to pay the fee again. The proposal would raise the fee for those who walk or ride a bike into the park from $10 to $12, and for those who come on a motorcycle from $10 to$20.
Backcountry users would see a permit, good for two weeks, rise from $10 to $12 if the plan is approved.
'We are committed to keeping Big Bend National Park affordable, but we also want to provide visitors with the best possible experience,' said Park Superintendent Cindy Ott-Jones.
Funds received from entrance fees are used to improve facilities, park infrastructure, and visitor services. Recent park improvements funded by park entrance fees include Rio Grande Village Visitor Center restroom improvements, resurfacing portions of River Road, and rehabilitating Chisos Basin campsites.
A 2014 NPS economic impact report demonstrated that just under 300,000 visitors to Big Bend National Park in 2012 spent $24.23M in communities around the park. This spending supported over 322 jobs in the local area, not including the 80 permanent and 45 seasonal staff working directly for the park and another 80-100 concessions employees in or near the park. National park tourism is also recognized as a significant driver in the national economy ' returning $10 for every $1 invested in the National Park Service.
Public comment on the proposal is being taken through January 16. Comments can be submitted on-line at this site.
Comments
Jarvis, the Fee Czar. Pricing the public out of public lands, a legacy upon which to proudly retire.
Ok, so part of me understands the public hue and cry over increased park fees because of NPS money management issues. But, part of me also understands the cost to park infrastructure; I don't do so much backcountry roughing it and therefore appreciate a clean restroom to use rather than having to squat behind a bush. I also appreciate a well-maintained trail, facilities that would allow physically-challenged individuals to see and enjoy the wonders of a national park as much as everybody else, and a decent road over which to traverse the park. Heavily-visited parks require alot of maintenance (snow plows, road mainetnance, etc. etc.). Yes, perhaps a little better management of existing funds would go a long way to improving items in various states of disrepair, but I can't imagine how a park fee would remain static year upon year while everything else that costs anything is raised due to inflation. Yes, I understand that national parks are public lands and should be open to everybody and not just those people who can afford to pay to get in - I get that. And I'm pretty certain I'm opening myself up to the ire of those of you who can't stand the idea of *ever* increasing park fees. Nonetheless, if an increase in fee will help keep or improve existing infrastructure from going completely to hell, then I'm one of the minority who is fine with that. Of course, the real test, then, will be to see if the NPS has improved their money management abilities.