Warner & Kaine urge Trump administration to re-think national park fees

WASHINGTON – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) urged the Trump Administration to reconsider dramatic entrance fee increases that the Department of Interior has proposed at 17 iconic national parks across the United States. In Virginia, this proposal would increase fees at Shenandoah National Park to $70 per vehicle during peak season. In a letter to Secretary Ryan Zinke, the senators instead offered bipartisan legislation they introduced earlier this year as a solution to address the long-term national park maintenance backlog, which is estimated to be at $11.3 billion.

“These fee increases, many of which are two-to-three times that of current levels, could price out many of our constituents and other individuals and families across the country from visiting these national treasures….we do not believe that shifting the burden to our park visitors in the form of significant fee increases is an appropriate or practical way to reduce the deferred maintenance backlog,” said the senators.

The National Park Service Legacy Act would help eradicate the maintenance backlog at the Park Service by directing existing revenues from mineral royalties toward high-priority deferred maintenance needs of the National Park Service, including investing in critical NPS infrastructure like Arlington Memorial Bridge.

“This bipartisan legislation would help repair and restore the aging and deteriorating infrastructure of our national parks and ensure that these treasure are preserved for future generations to enjoy. It would allow the Park Service to reduce its maintenance backlog without having to significantly increase the cost of admittance for visitors of our national parks,” the senators added.