Photo by Steven David Johnson
The National Park Service (NPS) is considering a steep increase in entrance fees at seventeen of their most popular and beloved national parks during their peak seasons, which includes Virginia’s Shenandoah National Park. If the proposal moves forward, Shenandoah National Park's fees would rise from the current $25 per vehicle to $70 per vehicle between June 1 and October 31 each year.
We are asking you to voice your opposition to this proposal because:
We all recognize that the NPS is drastically underfunded. As Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stated in justifying the increased fee, our national parks are ailing and have acquired a maintenance backlog of roughly $12 billion. Instead of asking the American public to shoulder this burden, a proposal before Congress now, the National Park Service Legacy Act, would allow a more substantial and sustainable investment in our parks. We need to urge Congress to put this bill on the president’s desk and pass a budget that puts more money, not less, into our national parks.
The NPS is accepting public comments on the entrance fee increase proposal through December 22. Please submit your comments at the NPS’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website.
We are asking you to voice your opposition to this proposal because:
- Our national parks are for everyone, and this steep increase would make enjoying Shenandoah National Park unaffordable for many of us.
- The steep increase could cause a decrease in visitation and thus result in less money for managing the park.
- We need to connect more Americans with nature, not less. Remember, you are the public in public lands!
We all recognize that the NPS is drastically underfunded. As Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke stated in justifying the increased fee, our national parks are ailing and have acquired a maintenance backlog of roughly $12 billion. Instead of asking the American public to shoulder this burden, a proposal before Congress now, the National Park Service Legacy Act, would allow a more substantial and sustainable investment in our parks. We need to urge Congress to put this bill on the president’s desk and pass a budget that puts more money, not less, into our national parks.
The NPS is accepting public comments on the entrance fee increase proposal through December 22. Please submit your comments at the NPS’s Planning, Environment, and Public Comment website.
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